#National Burger Month

[burgerbeast]

Celebrating National Burger Month 2022 with Burger Beast

It's National Burger Month 2022, let's do this!

My favorite month of the year is finally upon us, National Burger Month. Yes, every burger fiend should give May its proper due and celebrate the entire month as I do.Don’t forget that Monday, May 15th, is National Slider Day and Saturday, May 28th, is National Hamburger Day. Unfortunately, those dates are commonly overlooked. It’s like forgetting your favorite cousin’s birthday; it shouldn’t…

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#National Burger Month

[fieriframes]

[And there's our exotic goat burger. I guess it’s that time of month. it's a very lean, gamey meat. I like that personally.]

#s36e02 triple d nation - bbq burgers #guy fieri #guyfieri #diners drive-ins and dives #exotic goat burger #lean gamey meat #time #month

[ctvetsbulletin]

A Preview Recent Additions to the Connecticut Veterans Calendar & Included in the 13 April 2024 edition of CVB’s Weekly Connecticut Veterans Calendar Publication.

Thursday April 11, 2024 Available at ctveteransbulletin.org Saturday 13 April 2024 The following events are new additions to the CVB Connecticut Veterans Calendar Publication this week. See over 200 veterans events included in this Saturday’s Connecticut Veterans Calendar Publication. Subscribe Today and never miss an edition. Once subscribed, you will receive the weekly Connecticut Veterans…

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#militaryfamily #1ST AFGHANISTAN IRAQ VETERANS WAR MEMORIAL DEDICATION CEREMONY #American Legion Post 12 Veteran of the Month Flag Ceremony #American Legion Post 20 Riders Burger Night #Armed Forces Day Luncheon #Celebrate CINCO DE MAYO #Celebration the Life of Mark Allen Brundage Sr. #Connecticut National Guard #ConnecticutPride #ctvetsbulletin.org #Greenwich American Legion Post 29 Pancake Breakfast #INCLUDES #MFC EAST CONN&039;S FIRST ANNUAL SALUTE TO VETERANS RIDE #Operation Paws on the Ground #POST 68 GRAB & GO #TVC Annual Golf Scramble #Veterans event calendar #Veterans Memorial Green Clean-Up Day #VFW Post 591 Mother&039;s Day Breakfast #VFW Post 594 Fundraiser Tag Sale

[me-loving-woso]

Beach days, new teammates and love confessions

After literally months I am back. This is part 2 of Bruises Apologises and Cookies? It’s 15 k and probably I’ll make also a part 3 cause I am now invested in the story. Let me know if I should go on.

The season ending was a very bittersweet moment for you. From one point of view, you really didn't want to leave your club when they had given you so much.

The fans loved you, your teammates had become family, and the stadium was a second home for you. But you knew that you had to move for your career to flourish and make you reach your full potential.

The last game you played was the final of the Coppa Italia against Juventus. Your captain gave you the armband to lead your team one last time, and you were trying to hold off the emotions welling up. You almost felt like you were betraying the team in a sense. Still, you knew it was only an impression, as everyone was spurring you to go to Barcelona. They only wanted what was best for you. 

You won 1-0 in that game, with your goal making the difference. Your teammates made you lift the cup and shed one or two tears. You gave a small farewell speech, and then, for the last time, you rounded your little stadium, where you'd play all of your matches with the team, and said goodbye to your teammates and the fans.

Your mind went on autopilot after that. You pushed away all of your sad feelings in the locker room and in the car to go back home. At home, there you broke down. It was really over. The team, the club that had given you so much, was not your team anymore. And a new adventure was about to start. 

-

The following day, you fled to Eindhoven with some of your friends from the National Team to see the Champions League final. You had promised Mapi that you would be there and also because you were there to meet the coach of Barcelona to finalize the contract with the club.

As soon as you land in Eindhoven, you text Alexia, telling her you have just landed. Your relationship with her had been highly confusing since she welcomed you into her home after the defeat against your team. Something between the two of you had shifted.

She took care of you and made you feel safe in her arms. It had been a long time since you felt like being with her was just casual, on your part at least. Maybe she was just being polite and not actually caring more than necessary. Yet, you would text or call almost daily to talk about your days or just football. She was the first person you told about your move to Barça and she couldn't have been more supportive. 

As you texted her at the airport, she told you that you wouldn't see each other before the game because she was stuck in media duties. Still, she informed your friend and soon-to-be teammate that you had landed, so at least you would get to see Mapi.

As soon as you left your suitcase in the hotel, you got to the bar where you told her you would meet her.

"Soo, what are you doing in the summer?" You ask her while you are both eating some way too unhealthy burgers.

"Ingrid and I thought about going to Ibiza for a week; why?"

"Would you like to come to Italy for a few days?" You offer her, every year, you booked this tiny house for the whole summer in Praiano, near an abandoned beach. You thought it was a total steal for how much you had paid for it. You usually would go there with friends or family for a few weeks. It was really your favorite place to be.

"I would love to come, but I don't want you to third-wheel us." You chuckle. 

"What makes you say I'm not inviting anyone else?" You smirked suggestively, making her understand what you were insinuating.

"So you finally made it official?" You had asked Alexia to join you for the holidays the last time you saw her when she told you that she had never actually been to Italy if not for a match, you said it was unacceptable, so you offered yourself as a tour guide.

A week or so later, you realize that spending more than a day together would be a bad idea for fear of spilling out your deep, confused, and embarrassing feelings for her. So you decided to invite Mapi along.

"Again. We. Are. Not. Dating." You repeat to her for the millionth time, frankly also trying to convince yourself.

"So you are not going on holiday with her."

"Yes, I am. As friends." You explain, trying to find the right words.

"Only friends?"

"Well, with also some other benefits." Her face turns into a disgusted look. "What?"

"You are talking about my captain, it's weird." Frankly, she will be your skipper too, which meant that you were banging your boss? That was a thought for the future you.

"I really hope you would like to join us if you have nothing better to do." You really hoped she would say yes because you had planned to tell her you were joining Barcelona there.

"I'll talk to Ingrid about it, but you know I can't say no to Italy."

As you return to the hotel, you have a drink with your friends, and then you excuse yourself to go to bed when you hear your phone buzz.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'You up?'

'Yes, Why are you not asleep? It's late, and tomorrow you have a big game.' You reply.

'Just the nerves are getting to me. Last year with Lyon, we got demolished; I don't want it to happen again. It was difficult to keep the team united after such a loss, and I don't want to disappoint the fans.'

'Can I call you?' She sends another text.

You quickly start a video call, and she immediately picks up.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hey, Ale." You both smile dumbly at each other for a couple of seconds, but then you get interrupted by one of her yawns.

"You need some sleep, piccola, or you will be tired tomorrow. And as for the Lyon thing, you cannot predict the score tomorrow; you just can control how you play and try your best to motivate your team to be the best version of themselves. Lead them to glory, and give it your all. You won't have any regrets if you give everything on the pitch." You try to make her feel better, even though you know she will be stuck in her head all night.

"I'll try my best."

"And the least you could do, after ditching me tonight, is to score a goal for me tomorrow. It's the least." You tease her, making her smile.

"Asking for a goal in a Champions final? You know you are a very hard girl to satisfy, right?" She chuckles, making you feel relieved that you were able to make her feel a little better.

"You would be the expert on that, right?" You smirk suggestively, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, I definitely am." She replies confidently.

"Go to sleep, piccola mia; tomorrow is a big day for you."

"Goodnight, cariño."

"Buonanotte, Ale."

-

The morning after you woke up, you quickly texted Alexia for good luck. 

As soon as you got to the stadium, the tension was palpable, especially when in the first half Barcelona was down 2-0. You were getting extremely nervous and anxious. Your teammates, who were watching the game with you, noticed that. You were biting your nails to the skin. You didn't want them to lose, but if a team could turn around a 2-0, it was going to Barça, or at least you hoped so.

As soon as you saw the players come on the pitch for the second half, they all held an expression you couldn't understand. A mix of determination and hunger, especially Alexia.

The second half started, and not two minutes after, your woman bagged the first goal of the remontada. She ran to her fans, looking at you, making your initial with her hands, making all of your organs flip, fully blushing at the gesture. You really thought that she didn't take seriously what you said the day before. 

As soon as she made that gesture, your now ex-teammates, watching the game with you, noticed what had happened and put the dots together.

"It's her, isn't she?" Linari asks you, wearing a shocked expression.

"What?"

"The girl from Barça that you are seeing. It's Alexia Putellas?" You chuckle, turning around to see the game, making her understand she was right. You weren't denying it anymore.

Not even two minutes later, Alexia scores a header, making the score a draw. She ran up to the side of the field, making your initials again and then celebrating with a little bow.

Barcelona was finally on track, and you could see that the intensity was getting much higher than it was before. Alexia played some of her best football in that second half. The game found an advantage with Rölfo when she scored the match's final goal and game-winner.

You saw her lift the trophy, making your heart grow a thousand times bigger on how much you were proud of her.

Then Mapi came to you, and you hugged her, congratulating her. You mingled in the stadium for a little while and finally left to the parking lot. You wanted to see Alexia but knew she needed to focus on celebrating and her teammates. You could text her later when she had the time to reply.

.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'Meet me in the hallway at the stadium?'

You quickly excuse yourself from your friends and sneak inside the stadium again. As you were walking down the hallways to find her, you felt two hands sneak up on you, making you turn around.

She quickly picked you up from the air, giving you a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Ale!" You say, nearly tearing up.

She puts you down, turns her head to look at her surroundings, and then kisses you quickly, catching you completely off guard. "I have to return to Barcelona now, but I couldn't leave without seeing you." She says excitedly, you had never seen her this happy.

"You did it! You scored two goals. You are champions once again! I'm so fucking proud of you, Ale!" 

"Did you see! I did your initials. Two goals for you, cariño! I probably wouldn't have won the trophy if it wasn't for you." She places her hands on your cheeks, smiling.

"I didn't do anything. It's all on you. I just gave you a little reassurance."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. I have to go now! I have a trophy to bring back to Barcelona. I'll see you in two weeks, cariño." She gives you a quick peck on the lips and then leaves for the dressing room.

The next day, your Instagram was swarmed by pictures of her celebration and a video of the team that was clearly hungover Alexia included, which made you chuckle.

-

That day, you were leaving for Praiano with some of your closest friends from the Roma team. You had invited them to spend the last days in Italy with you before you moved to Barcelona.

The club announced your signing in the middle of the transfer season so as not to overshadow your signing for the Champion's League win; you thought it was totally unnecessary, but LaPorta wanted to give you a 'proper welcome.'

The day of your announcement coincided with the day Mapi would arrive in Italy. You really wanted to be the one telling her that you would be joining her team, so you talked to Ingrid, begging her to not make your friend open her phone for that day. They would stay with you for five days before leaving for Norway. In contrast, Alexia would remain with you for the whole week, which was something that you were looking forward to some alone time with her. Still, you were also nervous about being alone with her in fear of blurting out your surely unrequited feelings for her.

As soon as her flight landed, you went to pick her up, 

She was wearing some Barça shorts and a baggy t-shirt, wearing a messy bun, and walking towards you. As soon as she was close enough, you ran up to her and hugged her, which she soon reciprocated, picking you up from the air.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hi, champion." She put you down, buried her head in the crook of your neck, and placed a small kiss there.

Then you took her suitcase, grabbed her hand and led her outside the airport. As soon as you get into the car, she takes your hand again and never returns it for the rest of the trip.

"How was the flight?" 

"It was good, though nobody speaks Spanish here; they just add the S to the end of every word in Italian. It's so annoying." She pouts cutely.

"Welcome to Italy."

"So, is Mapi already here?"

"No, they are coming tomorrow morning; they had an issue with the plane tickets."

"So we are alone tonight?" She grins suggestively while you quickly nod at her before focusing back on the road. "So, what are the plans for tonight?"

"It depends on how tired you are." She had just had a whole week celebrating with her teammates, and you could understand if she wanted a relaxed night in. You turn around to see her expression, a mix between a smirk and a suggestive glare. "Oh my god, woman! I didn't mean it like that! I'm more than just a body." You remark jokingly as if you weren't thinking about the same thing as her. 

"I know. I love your body." She kisses the back of your hand. "Just as much as I love what it's inside here." She lightly taps your temple, making you slightly blush at her compliment. "SO, what are the plans for tonight?"

"If you are up to it, I wanted to take you out to dinner; since you say that Spanish food is better than Italian, I want to prove you wrong. And if you still have some energy, we can go for a walk later; I can show you around the city."

"I'm good for anything you want to."

-

As soon as you get to the house, Alexia's eyes widen.

"Oh wow, this is beautiful." She opens her mouth in wonder. 

"Wait until you see the beach!"

You stop the car and take her suitcase inside the house while she is toeing behind you. You take her outside to see the small private beach.

"How did you find this place?" She marvels, still looking at the clear water in front of her.

"We used to come here when I was little; I've actually started saving up money to buy this place. The owner loves me and has no kids, so he is okay with me buying it."

 She turns to you, taking you by your sides. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem."

"Now, can you show me the room? I would like to change clothes."

You grab her hand and take her inside the tiny house. "I'm sorry it's a little messy." You still had some bottles of wine opened and some glasses on the table from the previous night. "My friends left this morning, and I still didn't have time to clean up."

"If that is messy for you, you don't want to come to my house during the holiday season." She lightly jokes.

You take her to one of the spare rooms, where she places her suitcase on top of the bed, and then she quickly looks at her surroundings, confused.

"Is this your room? Because I don't see your stuff in here."

"No, my room is over there." You point at the end of the hallway. 

"Just take me to your room; we are going to sleep on the same bed anyway." She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I thought that you might want your own space."

"You have to stop being so accommodating. If I wanted my space, I would've stayed at home. I came here because I wanted to be with you. So stop being so cautious around me and take me to your room." She says, using her commanding voice that she only used on certain occasions, which she knew had an effect on you. 

You take her to your room, which is the best room in the house. It was the biggest and had a great sea view outside the window.

You leave to make her change while you go in the living room.

-

She wore shorts, her bikini, and an open button-down shirt when she returned. You chuckled when you looked at her; she was really feeling the beach mood. 

"Let's go outside!" She says excitedly.

"Wait, I still have to finish cleaning up, and then I have to go upstairs and finish some other stuff. I'll be there in a couple of minutes." You tell her you really wanted everything to be perfect for this week. 

"Nope." 

"What, sorry?"

"You are on holiday, so stop trying to make everything perfect; it's already perfect as it is, and come outside with me." She insists, making you giggle at her stubbornness.

"But-"

"No buts. You deserve to relax just as much as I do." She quickly approaches you, grabs you by the waist, and drags you outside.

"Alexia!" 

She puts you down on your small patio when you get outside. She places your hands on your cheeks. "Now, let me do something I've wanted to do for two weeks. Can I kiss you?" 

"You really don't have to ask anymore." You reply, standing up on your tippy toes to kiss her. It was slow and soft, and you could feel her smile through the kiss. She picks you up, and you can feel her begin moving. You needed to find out where she was going and why. But you were too caught up in her to understand what was happening. Then you hear some splashes and the sound of the waves. You break the kiss and look around: she brought you into the water, and she was wearing a mischievous smirk. 

"Alexia, don't you dare!" You warn her. She was trying to throw you into the water. She responds to you by chuckling and releasing her grip from your body, making you wrap your legs even tighter to not fall down to the water. "Alexia, come on, I still have clothes on." You tried to convince her, but she looked like she didn't care. So she began tickling you on your sides, which she knew was your ticklish spot. You tried to squirm from her touch, but you lost balance and fell in the water while the woman beside you, still standing, started laughing. 

“Tua madre in carriola!” You exclaim, slightly irritated that you had all your clothes drenched in water, but you couldn't fully care when there she was. You have never seen her as carefree and happy as now. You felt blessed that she was here, right now, with you, being like this, trying to make you finally relax and enjoy some vacation when it was nearly impossible, as you'd always stress about something. 

"You know that I didn't understand anything you said, right? Only something about my mom." She chuckles. You quickly go underwater and grab her legs, making her fall into the water.

"Tu puta madre!"

"See! At least I didn't call your mom a bitch." You tease her while she fixes her wet hair. "And this is payback!" You finish, crossing your arms and wearing a proud smirk. You see her expression change from irritation to determination while swimming towards you. She picked you up and threw you with her in the water, and that is how you spent your afternoon. Stolen kisses, laughs, and a whole lot of competitiveness. Honestly, you couldn't ask for more. 

After the both of you had calmed down after laughing and playfully fighting in the water, you swam to her. You made her wrap her legs around your waist while she was stabling herself, putting your hands on your shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you always pick me up from the ground; we can switch roles occasionally." You tell her, lightly rubbing her thighs; you really missed having her close to you.

She replies by giving you a soft kiss, then begins to look at you, smiling.

"What?" You ask her, feeling yourself combust at the intense eye contact.

"I just really missed your face, cariño." She says, peppering feathery kisses all over your face. 

How dare she say stuff like that when you try your best to keep inside your confusing and strong feelings for her. 

"I missed you too, piccola." You blurt out, kissing her jaw, holding her a little tighter. You really didn't want to let her go. You had created this little bubble in which the both of you were enjoying each other's presence, not caring about what you were to each other, but just having fun with no constraints and being in each other's company. 

"I think we should get inside." And the bubble popped.

You get inside the house with your clothes soaked and take turns to shower. It had been more than six months since the last time you were able to touch her, and you felt your body yearn for her. Yes, you had kissed, but nothing more than that.

- 

You took her out to dinner in a small place near the city.

You really needed help to differentiate this dinner from a date. It had everything that a date would entail. Good food, subtle and not-so-subtle flirting, and great banter. The subtle touches under the table or the shared knowing glance made your heart skip a beat. This dinner felt like a date, but you knew it wasn't. And that made you feel a sort of uncomfortableness that wasn't easy to set aside to fully enjoy your night with her.

As soon as you finished eating, you took her for a walk around the city, and you would tell her anecdotes of what you did in those places you were walking by when you were a child. 

You arrive at a park, and you both sit down on the swings. 

"You know, this is actually where I had my first kiss." She turns to look at you, wearing a curious grin.

"Here? In this park?" 

"Yeah. It was here. Actually, on this swing."

"Now you have to explain." She asks you curiously.

"Well, I was thirteen. We were a group of five kids, and we would come here every afternoon to have fun and play with the ball. I remember this boy always looking at me, and one day, we were alone at the park. I was on the swing; he made me close my eyes, gave me a flower, and kissed me."

"Oh my god, it's so cute!"

"No, it wasn't. It was very weird. But I think it was just me who didn't want to be handed a rose by a boy, much rather a girl. But that would be a problem for a future 14-year-old me. In hindsight, I think that it should have been the first clue of me liking girls." You chuckle, reminiscing about that young boy who made you realize that kissing boys was disgusting.

"Turn around." You see her standing up with a determined grin.

"What?"

"Just indulge me. Turn around." You turn around, your body closing your eyes expectantly.

"Okay, you can look now." You turn to face her and see a daisy in her hand.

"Well, this might not be a rose. But it is a flower." She hands you the flower shyly, making you chuckle lightly at her cuteness. 

"And you are a girl and not a boy." You state.

"So, can I kiss you? I'll ask because I don't think that poor boy asked you."

"Nah, he didn't. But as I told you before, you no longer have to ask."

"Kissing you shouldn't be something you can take for granted." She replies, leaning into you and weighing the swing's chains.

After more than thirteen years, you recreate your first kiss. And this time, it feels right. It was as if you were meant to recreate it with someone who mattered, who would make you feel excited and nervous about how the little boy felt when he was kissing you. And you felt the same way with her, and every time you kissed her, 

As soon as she breaks off the quick kiss, you remark, "I think you are a better kisser than that poor boy."

"I mean, I'd hope. I'm 29. He was your age."

"Don't get too cocky now. You were slightly better." You tease her. Making her lean into you and give you a searing kiss so that you'd know for sure that if you weren't sat on that swing, probably your knees would give out. It had an intensity that seemed out of place for being in a children's park. But neither of you seemed to care. It was dawn, the playground was abandoned, and you missed kissing her.

And most certainly she was just getting competitive because you told her she was slightly better at kissing than a thirteen-year-old. She wanted to wipe away any doubt about her kissing skills.

She breaks the kiss by lightly biting your lower lip, making you feel all hazy.

"Just slightly better?" She smirks proudly.

You didn't hear a word she said, as you were too busy falling down from the high she had just given you to actually understand words spoken to you in a different language by one of the hottest women you have ever seen. "What did you say?"

"I'll take that as a no." She lightly chuckles, taking your hand and walking to the park exit.

"Let's go home." She whispers, placing a small kiss on your temple.

The walk back to your holiday home was on autopilot. She took the lead on the conversation, asking you questions about the week's plans with your other two friends. As soon as you get home, you go to your small kitchen to get a glass of water while she toes behind you. As soon as you finish drinking, she comes closer to you, putting her hands on your waist and making you retreat until you hit the kitchen counter.

"Thank you for tonight. I really had fun." She smiles earnestly.

"I'm glad that you like it here."

"Oh, I love it here. Even though I think that the people in this place have an average age of 72." She jokes

"Nah, 75. In fact, there is only one kid in the whole town. And the father is actually the boy of the kiss in the park."

"Well, at least he moved on."

"Yeah, it was very tough for him, but eventually, after a very long time, he found love again. But again, how could you ever move on from someone like me." You joke. 

"I don't know. Well, nearly after a year, I'm still here, so something right you must be doing." She teases you.

"Or maybe you just can't find better." You raise an eyebrow suggestively.

"I don't think there is better to find, honestly." Her gaze softens as she says those words, making you blush, hiding your face by placing your forehead on her chest, hiding from her. She pulls her hands away from your waist and puts them on your cheeks to try to move your head from her to see your face. "What?" She asks. 

"You have to stop saying things like that."

"Why? I mean it." She reassures you.

"I- You know why." You try to make her understand, not fully saying out loud feelings; try to make her understand them instead without fully exposing yourself.

"I'd rather you say it."

You take a deep breath. "Alexia, do you want to go on-" Your phone rings and you look from your watch to who is calling you "I have to take this."

You squirm away from her touch and leave to go outside. 

"Pronto, Emma. Tutto bene?" It was your best friend whom you hadn't seen in a year and a half. She never called without asking you beforehand, so you thought it was pretty important.

"Si, tutto bene. Ti devo dire una cosa.” She replies excitedly, making you release a sigh of relief that nothing bad had happened.

Ten minutes later, you come back to Alexia wearing one of your biggest smiles.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, still waiting for you in the same spot as you left her.

"More than okay!" You reply excitedly, walking quickly to her. "My best friend is getting married, and I'll be the maid of honor." You place your hands on her shoulders, then slowly move them to her neck, lightly playing with her hair. "Now, where were we?" You knew exactly how you left her; you were about to blurt out your feelings for her, but you decided to ignore the problem and not dwell on it too much. Instead, you kissed her. The kissing led to something else, and for the first time in more than six months, time froze, and you were back again in her arms.

-

The next morning, you wake up to the alarm with hair on your face and an arm holding you down. You had a headache and clearly were sleep-deprived. You open your phone and look at the time. It's 10 AM. 

"Fuck!" You sit up, making the woman on your side slowly wake up. "Alexia, wake up. We are late; we should've been in the car by now."

You say, rushing out of your bed to quickly change. You had promised Mapi that you would drive her to your house from the airport because you thought it would be a waste of money to book a taxi when you had a perfectly functioning car that could drive you anywhere.

In five minutes, you were able to dress, brush your teeth, and get in the car. Thankfully, you remembered to shower the night before, so you didn't have to do it in the morning; you felt bad for Alexia, as you could see that she wasn't used to this level of rushedness, that you were more than used to as you always tended to sleep in, and eventually have to rush to get in time to train or to games.

You closed the door to the house while Alexia was still halfway done putting her shirt on. As soon as the both of you got into the car and slammed the door, you looked at each other and started laughing.

"Okay, those were the quickest five minutes of my life." She says while catching her breath.

"We totally overslept, and we are totally going to be late." You chuckle, starting the engine of your car.

"We can always say that we found traffic." She offers.

You definitely and not-so-subtly speed to the airport and then quickly call your friend to tell her that you are finally at the airport.

"I'm really sorry. We found traffic on the way here." You tell Mapi while you go to hug her and Ingrid. As your friend goes to hug Alexia, you turn to Ingrid and whisper, "Did she already open her Instagram?" You were trying to hold off her discovering that you were a Barça player; you really wanted to tell her, and that day would be the day that Barcelona would announce your signing.

"No, she didn't, but I can't hold off her phone for long." She replies, breaking off the hug and going to Mapi's side and beginning to catch up on her life and yours. 

"Oh my God, I forgot to tell you! Emma is getting married!"

"No way! She's finally settled down?!" Everyone who knew the both of you always thought that you would be the first one to marry, as Emma has always been the hot mess between the two of you, afraid of commitment. "Is she marrying the same guy from college?" She asks you.

"Yep." You turn around to look at Alexia and Ingrid, and then you explain. "When I was in college when I met Kate, my ex, Emma met this guy who studied economics and finance at our same university. They got together way before Kate and I. He's so dumb. I love him so much. They are perfect for each other."

You turn again to face your tattooed friend, "Wait, is that a hickey?" Her face is adorned with a knowing smirk while pointing at your neck, making you subconsciously hide it with your hand.

"No, it's not! It's a bruise." You try to explain, mentally trying to remember to scold Alexia as soon as you got her alone.

"It's so not!" She chuckles, surprised, making you turn around to glance angrily at Alexia, who replies with an innocent smile. "Is that the reason why you were late?"

"No! We found traffic on the way here, as I told you before."

"Yes!" Alexia casually backs you up, making your other two friends understand it was a lie.

As soon as you get into the car, Mapi is about to take out her phone to put music on when you stop her, saying that only the passenger in the front, Alexia, could put the music on, which was a lie, but you really didn't want her to see her phone. 

-

As soon as you got home, the couple went to their room to unpack the suitcase while you and Alexia put on your bathing suit and went outside to the beach to sunbathe. You were reading some book, trying to focus on the words of the book rather than the woman who was lying half-naked on your right. Which was getting increasingly more difficult whenever she would move or place soft caresses on your back, trying to get your attention.

"Hey." You turn to look at her.

"Hey, cariño. I'm sorry for the hickey. I got a little carried away yesterday night." She apologizes shyly, making you forgive her in the blink of an eye.

"Don't worry about it." You come closer to her, placing a hand on her chest, and give her a small kiss. You brush your noses together and tell each other sweet nothings, creating a small bubble that neither of you wants to pop. "I know that I'm a person who doesn't express much of her feelings vocally, but I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that you are here with me."

"Honestly, there is no place I'd rather be, cariño. By your side is where I am the happiest."

You move your lips closer to her, about to kiss her, when you hear the door of the house open and see your friends coming outside. You make your forehead fall on her shoulder while you feel her sigh displeased. You slowly move away from her and sit up.

"I'm still not used to seeing this." Your friend says while pointing at the both of you, making her girlfriend roll her eyes at her.

You spend the morning in your small private beach playing card games and catching up with each other. 

-

In the afternoon, it was when the club would announce your signing, so you decided to tell her at that moment. You had brought your Barcelona shirt to be able to announce it away from Barcelona. You told the club that you wouldn't be able to fly to Barcelona for your signing because you had already booked your holidays, so you did all the photoshoots and signing beforehand.

The first hours of the afternoon had always been the hottest, so you all decided to come inside and plan together your four days ahead. 

You go to your room and retrieve the Barça shirt. Then you leave to go to your living room. "Oh, and by the way, I decided on my future club." You say casually, sitting down on the couch next to Alexia, facing Mapi.

"You are renewing with Roma, right?" She asks curiously. "I heard some rumors saying that they offered you a big contract."

"Yeah, they did offer me a huge contract. But I decided to leave; check your phone." You look at the time on your watch. "I think they just made the announcement." You tell her excitedly. 

She quickly checks her phone, then turns to look at you smiling. "You'll be a Barça player?" You slowly nod, taking out the shirt with your name on it and showing it to her.

"I wanted to be the one who told you; that's why Ingrid never let you use your phone today." You say while standing up to hug her.

"I'm so happy! We can finally win the Champions League together! Like we always dreamed about!" She says excitedly, looking at the shirt. "Have you already decided on the number? I know that yours has always been the 16."

"I don't care, honestly. I'm just glad to be a Barcelona player. Plus, Rölfo already has the 16. I don't want her to change numbers for me."

"It's already settled, cariñ- Y/n." Alexia interjects, making you turn to look at her. "I know how much the number means to you, and Frido already wanted to change the number to 18, so I asked her if she wanted to make the swap. If you want it, you'll have the 16."

"Ale, there was no need to do that!" You felt your heart explode with affection at the thought that she would do this for you without even asking her or talking about it.

"I know. But I wanted to." You lock eyes, and for a moment, it is as if you are the only one in the room. "Now, do you want me to take a picture of you for the announcement?"

You posted on your Instagram a picture of you and your friend holding your Barça announcement shirt, with the caption: 'Reunited with this one.'

The rest of the week passed in a blur, from boat trips to visiting nearby cities and loads of food; you finally felt at peace and ready for your new adventure in Barcelona.

-

You would stay one last week in Italy with your family to finish packing up, and then you would leave for Barcelona. You found a beautiful apartment near the training grounds, and it had everything you dreamed of. Huge kitchen, a small garden, and a great view of the city.

Everything felt perfect. Alexia was going to pick you up from the airport, you thought it was unnecessary and a waste if her time, but then you gave in, wanting to see more of the woman who had been on your mind ever since that week in Italy, maybe even from before.

As soon as you landed, you got the terrible news from your landlord that a pipe from your apartment had just exploded, which meant that for more than a week, you would be homeless.

As you walk sadly to the exit of the airport, you find Alexia smiling at you as soon as she sees you, but then, as soon as she sees your expression, her smile fades into an expression of worry. You go to hug her, circling your arms on her waist. "Are you okay, cariño?" She asks worriedly.

You bury your head in her shirt, feeling the warmth and comfort she is exuding and taking it all in.

"A pipe from my new apartment just exploded. I am homeless for a week, and I need to find a hotel not too far from the training grounds."

"We'll find a solution together. Now let's go to the car and go home." She takes one of your suitcases, puts her arm on your shoulder, and pulls you close to her, dragging you to her Cupra.

As you enter the car, you melt into the car seat, taking Alexia's hand and giving it a couple of kisses. She turned on the engine of the car and proceeded to leave the infinite parking area of the Barcelona airport. 

"If it's not a problem, you can always stay with me." She offered when you asked her if she knew any hotels near the training grounds. "Because I really don't think you'd want a week of Mapi and Ingrid together." She jokes, clearly making a point, because as much as you love both girls, they are disgustingly in love, and being around them made you feel miserable with your current situation with Alexia.

"Ale, I don't want to intrude. You need your space, and until I'm settled in, I'll take up a lot of it. And I don't want you to feel like you have to because you stayed in my home during the holidays," You say.

"I'm not offering because I feel some sort of obligation. I'm offering because I care about you, and I'd hate for you to be stuck in a hotel when you can simply stay at my place."

"Are you sure?" 

She chuckles at your stubbornness, "Yes, I'm sure, cariño. But I do have one condition that I cannot overrule." She becomes immediately serious, making you unconsciously sit up. "You have to bake me those darn cookies." Her condition makes you chuckle. "I want to bring them to my mamá."

"I'll bake you all the cookies you want, piccola mia." 

.

You get to her home, and as soon as she opens the door, you are met with a ball of fur asking for your attention, which you gladly give to her.

That evening, you baked your cookies together, fully knowing that the next day would be your first day of training, so it acted more as a stress relief rather than something you were doing for someone else. Which wasn't a problem for you, as it had always been your love language, acts of service, and cooking for other people. But strangely enough, you weren't feeling at all that anxious, and most certainly, even if you wouldn't admit it to yourself, it was Alexia's merit.

Her presence seemed to ground you and anchor you to the real world, not making you overthink or go in a spiral of intrusive and not good thoughts.

You loved how, even though she didn't know how to bake, she would try her best to do whatever you wanted her to do, making you grin at her concentrated looks whenever she didn't understand something. 

-

As you went to bed that night, you were cuddling up in Alexia's bed.

"So, are you excited about tomorrow?" She asks you.

"I am a little nervous, but yes, I'm very excited. I'm finally playing for my dream club, and honestly, I couldn't be asking for more. But I do have a question, though: Do you know how many people know about us on the team?"

"Mapi has been a good friend, but for now, only she and Ingrid know. But if you are asking me if I'll treat you differently than what I've been doing now, the answer is no. Of course, I'll not be kissing you because we are at work, but I'll never avoid you."

"You'll have plenty of time to kiss me on other occasions then." You give her a small peck on the lips and go back to your previous position, falling asleep in her arms, looking forward to the next day.

-

The next day, you have breakfast together and then leave for the training grounds. As soon as you get there, Alexia goes in for training, whereas you go and meet all the training staff and Jonatan Giraldez. You were nervous, as you always hated to meet new coaches.

"Hey, Mister."

"Hey, Y/n. I'm so glad to finally have you on my team. It has been two years now that you have been my number 6 choice. I hope we can work well together." He says, shaking your hand, making you blush lightly at the compliment. 

"I will do my best to be the best player I can be." You say.

"I'm sure you will. Now, before going to train and meet your future teammates, even though I know you already know some of them, you unfortunately have some media to attend to."

He accompanies you to a room full of interviewers from Barça TV and some other places, and the interviews begin.

"Hello, Y/n Y/ln. May I ask you some questions?" He asks politely, and you slightly nod.

"Welcome to Barcelona; what made you decide to leave your former club to join Barcelona?"

"Barça has always been my dream club, ever since I was a child. I remember that my uncle wanted me to become an Inter fan, whereas my other one wanted me to become a Milan fan, but as soon as I saw Barcelona play, I was completely taken by their style of play, and it was this club and Messi, that made me fall in love with the sport, so I will always be forever grateful to this club, for giving me this opportunity."

"Y/n, you have the impossible task of replacing one of the best CDMs in the world, Keira Walsh, who had just returned to her childhood club, Man City, with Lucy Bronze; how do you think you will fit that role?"

"Woah, huge question." You lightly joke, earning chuckles from the interviewer. "I think Walsh is one of the best CDMs in the world right now, if not the best. It's not going to be an easy task to 'replace' a player like her, if we can say that. But I'll give it my all to this team, and even if I won't be the best 6 in the world, I'll definitely be the best version of myself to play for this historic team. It's my dream."

"Who are you most excited to play with?"

"Of course, Mapi. We played together during our Atletico days, and I always thought that we worked very well together. But honestly, all of them, I'm really excited to play in midfield with Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas and one of the most underrated players of all time, Patri Guijarro."

"How do you feel about playing with Alexia Putellas, given the circumstances of your previous encounters?" You furrow your eyebrows at the question.

"You mean, given that the last time we played against each other, she nearly broke my nose?" You say lightheartedly, making the people understand that you weren't holding any grudge against her.

The English interviewer quickly nods. "As I said in previous interviews, I think Alexia is a great player and a great person, both on and off the pitch. She will be my new skipper, and I couldn't ask for anyone better. In our previous encounters, I think we were just unfortunate, and when you play with a person who is physically bigger and stronger than you, injuries may happen. But I don't hold any type of grudge against her; in fact, we actually joked about the fact that if she weren't a football player, she could definitely be a kickboxer."

"And that is all for today; thank you, Y/n."

"Thank you all for being here and Visca el Barça."

-

You quickly exit the room and speed walk to the changing rooms to get ready for your first training with the team. As soon as you put on the shirt, you immediately touch the badge of your new team and automatically smile. You had finally made it, and you couldn't be happier.

You put on your cleats and go outside to talk to your coach. All the other girls were making rondos or juggling with the ball, making you feel a little bit like a fish out of the sea. For a slight moment, you were slightly regretting coming to Barcelona but you knew that it was just your mind playing tricks on you and that you deserved to be there just as much as the girls who were already training.

"So, coach, do you want me to run a few laps or do some drills with the ball?" You tell him, feeling ready to do anything, even running, jumping up and down from your standing position.

"Oh no." He chuckles. "I don't know if you do this in Italy, but here at Barcelona, for every new player, we do the guard of honor." 

"Oh no, we don't have to." You say shyly, not wanting to be at the center of attention.

"Oh yeah, it's tradition." He spurs you on, making you go with him on the pitch to your new teammates.

"Girls!" He screams, making all of them turn around. "As you already know, Y/n will be our new 16, so take care of her and make her feel at home!" He says, making you awkwardly wave at your teammates, embarrassed. Mapi walks excitedly to you and gives you a hug. 

"Is your coach always like this?" You ask her, still embarrassed.

"Yep, get used to it."

"I will never get used to wearing these colors," you say, putting your hand on your badge.

"You deserve it more than anyone." She leads you to your teammates, and one by one, you get introduced to them, even though you already knew most of them, never leaving your side, for which you were eternally grateful to her. You leave Alexia for last, and she gives you a quick hug and a reassuring look, which is what you need to finally ground yourself.

They all line up to give you the guard of honor, which you try to make them not do, but Mapi basically pushes you to run, feeling all the smacks on your back as you are running. The training was great after that. You managed to talk and get to know everyone, and everyone was so nice to you.

The intensity, though, was something that you had never experienced before. The Barça rhythms were definitely higher than the ones from Roma, but you weren't the one who would give up that easily, overworking your body, trying to prove yourself to the coach.

You were on a water break, trying to catch your breath, putting your hands on your knees, straightening your back. You feel a hand at the back of your neck lightly squeezing, asking for your attention. You immediately recognize her touch, even though you didn't see her. You turn around to look at her, and you are met with a worried look.

“Are you okay, cariñ- Y/n?“

"So good." You say breathlessly. "I just have to get used to this much running, that's all."

"Do you want me to talk to the coach?" 

"I don't need any special treatment, Alexia." You squirm away from her and jump on Mapi's back, interrupting her from some conversation she was having with Pina and Patri. You felt bad about leaving Alexia like that, so coldly, but then again, you always hated when people were concerned about your physical health or were just trying to help; it made you vulnerable, and you hated that. You immediately regretted how you talked to Alexia and decided that after practice, you would apologize to her.

When practice ended, you were exhausted but still very happy. Alexia was practicing free kicks as everyone left to change.

"Piccola mia, I'm really sorry about how I replied to you today." You say regretfully, placing your hand on her back, making her turn to you.

"I wasn't trying to give you any special treatment, Y/n." What happened to cariño? "I am your captain; if you feel bad or worn out, it's my responsibility to help you." She replies sadly, playing with the ball on her feet.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I just hate when people are worried about me. It makes me feel vulnerable. And I know you were just worried, so I'm really sorry."

"I know you are. Come here and give me a proper hug." She opens her arms for you, which you gladly take, and circle your arms around her waist, putting your head on her chest. Those types of hugs with her were your favorite hugs.

"Now, are you ready for the initiation?" 

You break off the hug and look at her, puzzled. "What initiation? Mapi never told me anything."

"Well, it's more like a team bonding get-together with karaoke."

"So I have to sing? Will you sing too?"

"I am not singing, but you are a newbie, so you have to." She explains as if she were stating the obvious.

"The hell I am not."

"The hell you are." She chuckles.

"I do love music, but I do not sing. When I am sober, at least."

"You kinda have to; it's a tradition. Everyone has done it. It's about shedding any fear of embarrassment."

"But Ale-"

"Nope, it's settled." You sigh at her words and then leave to go to the dressing room.

“Goodbye capitana.”

“Goodbye cariño.”

-

In the meantime, Mapi and Patri were watching your interaction with Ale from afar.

"I've never seen Alexia this… soft? It feels weird." Patri states to her friend.

"Who? Alexia and Y/n?" Mapi asks dumbly, trying not to give out any details. 

"I never specified Y/n." She raises an eyebrow. "Wait. Do you know something?" The midfielder's face turns into a wide smirk.

"I don't have anything to say to you that I should say." 

"So you have something for me that you shouldn't say?" She asks, flipping the situation.

"Stop using wordy sentences to make me confused."

"You didn't reply to my question. Are they dating? Wait, is she the girl we all thought a couple of months ago fucked her?"

"I don't know anything! If you are really that curious, go and ask her!" Your friend replies defensively, really trying not to spill any secrets.

At that moment, you walked through the door and saw your friend, "You didn't tell me I had to sing?! Oh hey, Patri." You turn around to your new teammates happily waving at her, and then you go back to point your finger angrily at your friend.

"Oh, come on! How bad it could be! You were in a band, after all." She says

"You were in a band?" Patri asks curiously.

"I had a really dark past.." You explain quickly and dramatically. "Plus, you know well I didn't sing!"

"Oh, come on. Don't be too dramatic. I'll get you a couple of drinks, then you'll sing something, and that's that."

.

That evening, you were exhausted from your training, so you decided to have a power nap in Alexia's house, which she gladly joined you in. After a couple of hours, you were ready to go and left for the pub, where you would meet the girls from the team.

As soon as you get there, you leave Alexia to go to Mapi and mingle with some of the Spanish girls in that group, Ona, Aitana, Pina, and Patri. While Alexia went to talk to the older girls and her friends from the national team. Some hours in the night passed, and you were really glad that you were getting along with everybody from the team.

At first, you were very shy with them, but thankfully, Mapi, and in some instances Alexia, helped you a little to open up and make your teammates able to get to know you. Some girls were drinking, but you decided not to, and many of them started off the karaoke, making you sometimes laugh at their stupidity, whereas in others, you would clap at them. 

You knew that your turn was coming when you saw Mapi run to another room and come out with a guitar in her hand, making you roll her eyes at her, completely understanding her intentions. You used to play the guitar when you were younger, and you actually were quite good at it. But you hadn't played in so long, and as the hype woman your best friend was and the fact that she loved embarrassing you, fully knowing you hated being the center of attention, she brought a guitar just for everybody to see and ask you about it.

She handed it to you, making you chuckle at her sarcastically, but she was wearing this proud smirk, which showed that she wasn't doing this just to make you uncomfortable and tease but also to show you off, which you thought was very unnecessary.

You open the guitar case, and you see a beautiful acoustic guitar.

"Where did you get this? Did you steal it?" You joke, admiring the guitar.

"The guy behind the bar recognized us and gave me the guitar."

"Do you play the guitar, Y/n?" Ona asks you curiously, making you turn your head around the table.

"Well, I used to play it; I haven't played in a very long time." You say while you pick it up and run the strings through your hands. You stopped playing the guitar when you left for Chelsea. Usually, music was your happy place, but when you moved out from Spain and broke up with Kate, your love for the instrument dissipated, and you wouldn't bring yourself to do something that you enjoyed so much.

"You should play something for us," Patri adds excitedly. 

"Oh no." You reply shyly, putting away the guitar. "I haven't played in so long, plus I don't think I remember much, and I really don't want to embarrass myself." You chuckle nervously, hoping that they will let it go. In the meantime, the guitar thing caught some attention, so now, not only was your table waiting for you to play something, but everyone in your group and some other clients in the pub were waiting for you to play something.

"Oh nonsense, you know that you have to perform; if you don't play the guitar, you'll have to sing. So you decide…" Mapi spurs you on. You take a deep breath and move your chair to the little stage where the people would normally sing karaoke. You quickly tune the guitar, and then you finally feel all the eyes on you.

"Okay, if I get some notes wrong, please don't laugh at me." You look at Alexia one last time, who is somehow sitting with Mapi now, and she gives you a reassuring smile.

So you begin playing one of your favorite songs on the guitar; every time you play it, it reminds you of when life was fun and simple. Whenever you played it, you would get lost in the music and daydream of what those sounds elicit. (If you want to hear it, it's 'Mutter' from Rob Scallon, the live version)

As soon as you start playing, your tattooed friends turn to Alexia.

"Good luck, my friend." She pats her back ironically.

"What, why?" Alexia whispers, still trying to give you her full undivided attention.

"If she still plays like she played years ago, she has this way of conveying many emotions. Either they are sad or happy; whenever she plays something, she amplifies it by a thousand. The song that she is about to play is going to hit you like a ton of bricks, believe me."

The song begins slowly, but then it gets faster and fuller. It made you regret to decide this piece after not playing in so long, but you loved it, and honestly, you really wanted to show off a little to your teammates and, most definitely, to Alexia. Thankfully, this worry of making mistakes was quickly forgotten when you began getting lost in the music. You really missed being able to play and express yourself in this way.

As soon as you finish the song with the last chord, you don't dare to look at your teammates; only when you hear the claps do you lightly blush and turn your gaze around the room, searching for those beautiful eyes that have the capacity to render you hopeless, but you couldn't see her, nor your friend for that matter.

-

Your performance was nearly finished, and Alexia never took her eyes off you; she thought that what Mapi said was right; your performance hit her like a ton of bricks, but more than anything, it brought out a huge realization that Alexia could quite withstand, so she left, to go to the bathroom, trying to get some space. Mapi quickly followed her friend, and as soon as they were inside the small room, the defender turned to pacing Alexia.

"Woahh, hey, calm down. What happened?" She asks the midfielder, placing her hands on her shoulders, trying to stop her from walking around the room.

She takes a deep breath, "Mapi, I have a problem. A huge one."

"Okay, tell me what it is; I know that we can find a solution to it." Her shorter friend reassures her, clearly shocked to see her captain in this state.

"I don't think we can. I just realized that I am in love with her." She says, putting her hands on her face.

"Who?" 

"Who? Mapi really? Lady Gaga. No Y/n, you idiot."

"Sorry, I just wanted to check. But why is it such a problem?"

"Because we decided not to have anything serious, and I really don't want to get rejected when I was the one that continuously pointed out that we weren't dating whenever someone asked."

"I think she feels the same. No. I know that she feels the same. Gosh, I spent five days with you two alone in a house; I can understand when two of my best friends are in love with each other. Eyes don't lie. And don't you dare tell that you haven't been already acting like a couple for at least 6 months now!"

"Do you really think that?"

"I know that. Just tell her how you feel. You won't lo-"

You open the door to the bathroom, searching for Alexia. She had been missing for a couple of minutes now, so you were a little worried that she might have been sick.

"Oh, here you are! I thought you left or you were sick!" You say happily when you finally find Alexia and Mapi, but then you notice something wrong with her, as if she was shaken up. "Wait, are you okay?" You asked, worried, coming closer to her.

"I'm okay, cariño." She reassures you, and then her expression changes into something happier and more proud. "I didn't know you were so good at playing the guitar!" 

"I was better a long time ago. I haven't played in years, but this woman here." You point at Mapi quickly, "Can't mind her own business."

"Thankfully, she didn't; I know for sure you wouldn't have told me that you are good at playing an instrument."

"I would have told you!" You cross your arms, pouting.

"No, you wouldn't." She shakes her head, smiling, while Mapi nods, backing her up. "You'd hate for anybody to know that you are good at something, just in fear of being at the center of the attention." She explains, making you blink twice. It felt as if you were an open book for her to read and understand you perfectly.

"Get out of my head." You remark shyly, earning from her a chuckle. "So you liked the song?" You ask shyly and insecurely.

She gently places her hands on your cheeks, gently caressing them to give you some reassurance. "I loved it; you are a wonderful guitar player, cariño."

"Thank you." You lightly blush. For a moment, you forget that Mapi is in the same room as the two of you because you place your finger on your lips to silently ask her to kiss you. Which she gladly does, feeling her smile against your lips

"I'm still here, you know!" Mapi interrupts you from your little moment, irritated. "Bleah, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this." You raise your middle finger at her, still kissing Alexia, fully starting to make out with her. You hear the door shut, making you temporarily pull away from her to look behind you, then resuming back to kissing her.

Five minutes later, you both decide to go back to your teammates, but as the night progresses, you feel yourself getting more and more tired, making all of your clinginess appear. You would orbit around Alexia more, trying to find some physical comfort in her presence, even though you really didn't want to show off your 'relationship' with her.

She noticed this almost immediately, so when you were passing by her, in a swift movement, she wraps her arms around your waist and dragged you to her lap; you stumble a little, trying to balance yourself, placing your arm on her shoulder, 

"Are you tired?" She whispers in your ear as if you were the only two people in the room.

"Yes, I am a little. How did you know?"

"I have already seen you tired many times, cariño. You are very touchy when you are tired." You subconsciously move away from her, but she keeps you in place firmly. "Don't move away; I love this side of you."

At first, your new teammates gave the both of you a surprised look, but nobody would dare to say anything besides Mapi, obviously, who sent you from across the room a knowing look, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. 

By the end of the night, you had played some more guitar as some of your teammates wanted to sing some more songs. But after a couple more hours, you were exhausted, and when Alexia noticed it, she decided to bring you home to sleep.

-

That morning, when you woke up, everything in your body ached somehow. You really had to get used to Barcelona's rhythms. The bed was empty, so you figured that Alexia was making breakfast, so you painfully make it to Alexia's kitchen wearing one of her big shirts and some shorts you found along the way to the kitchen, which were scattered the night before trying to get to the bedroom. She was making coffee the way you liked it, with the moka instead of using her Nespresso machine 'that she loves so much,' which made you smile at her attentiveness. As soon as you walk into her kitchen, she turns around and walks towards you, giving you a small kiss on the lips.

“Good morning, cariño. Did you sleep well?" She turns to her kitchen again, rummaging through the cabinet on top of her stove.

"I slept really well. What are you doing?" You ask her curiously, leaning on the kitchen countertop and peaking.

"So I found out that my mom had a moka in her kitchen all this time, and I didn't even notice it! So I asked her if I could borrow it since I know you prefer this coffee to the machine." She says while putting the coffee maker on the stove.

"Ale, you shouldn't have done that! I would've gladly drank whichever one you had; you didn't have to go through such trouble for me." You lightly slap her shoulder.

"I didn't go through any trouble. I just wanted to make you feel at home."

Before saying something that you most probably regret, aka replying with But you are my home. You dragged her to your height, kissed her to show all of your gratitude, and whispered a small thank you. When the coffee was ready, you both sat down on her small table and had breakfast.

You were talking about some media stuff you were going to do in the afternoon when you heard a knock on the door. Alexia looks at you confused, not expecting anybody, and she leaves with Nana in tow; as she opens the door, you hear Alexia talking to a woman who has a very similar voice to hers, and then you hear her scream, "No, Alba, no!" 

You see the woman enter the kitchen with Alexia chasing after her as if she didn't want her to meet you.

"Hello, my name is Alba. I'm Alexia's sister." You suddenly widen your eyes, shocked. She offers you her hand to shake, and you stand up.

"Hi, I'm Y/N." You shake her hand and offer her a shy smile, subconsciously searching for Alexia to help you out with this unexpected visit.

"I know who you are; my sister nearly broke your nose. By the way, I want to apologize on her behalf; she never had proper manners." 

"Alba!" Alexia screams, exasperated, while you release a light chuckle.

"Don't worry, she has already apologized. But yes, she has to work on her manners." You wink at Alexia, making her roll your eyes at you.

"Since when are you guys dating?" She asks curiously, earning another frustrated scream from Alexia.

"Oh no. We are not dating; she is just helping me out because a pipe exploded in my apartment." You reassure her while she stares at you confused, then lowers her gaze,

"So you give your clothes to all of your guests?" Alba asks her sister ironically, making you slightly blush.

"Well, I- I," The older sister stutters, making the other draw conclusions by herself. 

"So you are dating."

"It's complicated." She says. "Is there any particular reason why you are here?"

"I forgot my sweater here last week, and I need it back. But I can come at another time."

"No, I'll get it for you." She disappears into the house, leaving you and Alba in an awkward silence.

Thankfully, Alexia comes back thirty seconds later, 

"So you should come to dinner at mom's house sometime. She would love to meet your new 'roommate.'" She teases her older sister, clearly trying to irritate her.

"Well, then, you should invite Alexandre too since you live at his house more than you live at your own house." She replies sarcastically.

"I thought we reached an agreement to never talk about Alexandre ever again after the incident."

"By incident, she means when I caught them fucking in the bathroom during the semi-finals against Chelsea last year." She explains to you, clearly trying to irritate her sister, making you feel like you are getting way too much information on their dynamics in one sitting.

"Let me guess: when she saw you, she made some sarcastic remark, rolled her eyes, and left, right?" You joke, clearly imagining the scene.

"That's exactly it! Always rolling her eyes at people. So annoying! Finally, someone who gets it!"

"Uggghh." Alexia sighs and rolls her eyes at you both.

"See! She just did it again!" 

"I don't like this coalition between the two of you." She lightly pouts.

"It's not a coalition when we are simply just stating the truth!" You lightly tease her, earning an approving nod from Alexia's sister.

"I hate you both!" She exclaims, fully knowing that she was just lying.

"No, you don't." Then you turn to Alba, "It was nice meeting you; I hope we'll see each other soon. I have to get changed for practice." You leave the two sisters while you get ready for training.

After a couple of minutes, Alexia entered your now shared room; you turned to her and placed your hands on her shoulders.

"So you met my sister…"

"She's very nice; I hope I made a good impression." You say insecurely.

"You made a great impression, cariño. I'm just really sorry that you had to meet her in these circumstances. Not to put pressure on you, but my sister can't keep a secret, and she'll definitely tell my mom about you."

"What a way to not put pressure on me." You chuckle nervously.

"Don't worry. I will handle everything, okay?" She gives you a small peck. "Now, are you ready?"

Training that day was even more intense than the day before, with the exception that you were finding so many link-ups with your new teammates. Sometimes, you would forget that you weren't training anymore with your old teammates, that if you passed the ball to the right, you would find Giugliano without looking, or that Linari was right behind you, ready for a pass if you needed it. 

Now, you had different teammates, and your body had to get used to it. 

Being back on the pitch with Mapi had been so exciting. Both of your styles of play evolved so much that how you played at Atletico didn't matter anymore. She loved playing with the ball, so you'd expect more passes from her than before.

What really changed everything for you were the players up front. Playing behind Alexia and Aitana was something that didn't happen every day. The best way for them to express themselves was if you were able to cover defensively for them, which you were doing gladly. Adapting to their style of play was not simple; they played on short and fast passes and opted less for long passes, which were your specialty. 

You were practicing on free kicks, which you thought you were pretty good at. You didn't know why, but you were able to curve the ball perfectly, making the goalkeepers go crazy.

You were in a team with Mapi against Alexia and Graham Hansen, whom you were unceremoniously obsessed with her football skills.

It was your turn to shoot your first free-kick. Paños was on goal, and she was eying the ball. You go for the kick and curve the ball perfectly; the goalkeeper didn't even move because she thought it would be going out. It hit a top bin, and it was in. You throw your hand in the air competitively. "Dajeee!"

"That was a great curved ball! Where did you learn that?" Mapi asked, shocked, as she had never seen you take a free kick like that before.

You shake your shoulders nonchalantly while Caro asks you, "What are your free kick stats?"

"Like all time or just last season?" You ask shyly.

"All the time."

"Well, since I played for Roma, I was usually the one who took free kicks. I guess out of fifty-one direct free kicks, I scored forty-seven if I remember correctly." 

"Wait, really?" Alexia asks you, shocked.

"Well, I love taking free kicks, and I practice a lot on them."

"That's not normal, Y/n; that's a really high conversion rate. I don't understand why I just heard about this!" Your friend tells you.

"I don't know, I just love taking them." You shrug your shoulders. "Plus, when I go for a curved ball, I don't know how, but I do it in a way that is almost impossible to predict."

"You can do a knuckleball too?"

"I'm not that good at that." They move the ball to the place and offer you to kick it. You hit the ball hard, and it goes for the post, then bounces off the other and goes in.

You scrunch your nose, dissatisfied, getting a new ball for another free kick, while your teammates look at you, shocked.

You turn to look at them, "What? 

"Well, now we have to change teams, or it's going to get too easy for you guys!" Alexia says competitively.

"Oh, hell no! Now it's too late; we already decided on the teams!" Mapi says.

"Well, let Y/n decide." Ale crosses her arms, looking at you. "Do you want to swap teams and be with me, who is currently hosting you in my home, or that woman over there?" She points disgusted Mapi.

"Well, I-"You try to talk. 

"Of course, she's going to choose me! I've known her for more than seven years!" They kept on bickering while you and Caro just stared at them, chuckling. 

"You know? I think I'm actually switching teams." You raise an eyebrow, smirking. 

"You made the right decision," Alexia says proudly. She walks to you to get on your side.

"That's arrogant to assume that I would switch teams with you, Alexia." You give her a smirk and walk to Caro's side, leaving Mapi and Alexia next to each other. "Caro and I are going to destroy you!"

And so you did. After another twenty minutes, you finally leave the pitch and get home with Alexia. Once again, you were exhausted, but you were very happy that you were able to get along with your new teammates.

As soon as you get home, you throw yourself to the couch while Nala jumps on top of you for cuddles, which you gladly give her.

Alexia was still pouting because she lost the free-kick competition. "Oh, come on, you can't be still mad!"

"I'm not mad."

"Well, it's not every day that you get to be on the same team as Caroline Graham Hansen. You know how much I am obsessed with her football skills."

"Well, then, why don't you go and ask her if you could crash at her place."

You sit right up and drag her by the shirt to you. "Are you jealous, piccola?"

"No, I am not! Why would I ever be! Caro is in a relationship with Marta. Plus, I am the one that has two Ballon d'Or." She says, trying to convince you.

"I know. You are the best of the best. I had to basically seduce you so that my team could have a chance against you. And you don't have to worry about anyone. There is no one else." The last words unconsciously slip out of your mouth, making you mentally curse at yourself.

"There is no one else for me either. Y/n, I have to tell you something." You nod at her while placing your arms on her shoulders.

"I'm in lo-"The phone rings again. This time, it is Alexia's phone. She goes to look at it. "It's my agent. I really need to take this."

After thirty minutes, she comes back looking stressed out.

"What was the call about, that made you go on the phone for thirty minutes?" You ask curiously.

"Oh no, I was also on the phone with my mom; that's why I was out for so long."

"Is everything okay at home?"

"Everything is great!" You could see that something was up. "But you know when I told you that my mom found out about you-us?"

"No? I thought that she still didn't know."

"Well, now she does. AndsheinvitedusfordinnerandIdidn'tknowwhethertotellyoubecauseIdon'tknowifyouwanttocome."

"What, sorry? I know you have this cute little habit of talking fast when you are nervous, but remember that I am not Spanish."

"Sorry." She takes a deep breath. "My mom invited us for dinner. You can totally say no, but-"

"I would love to come to dinner, Alexia. You didn't have to be that nervous." You give her a small peck on the lips. "Tell her I will bring the dessert."

-

"So, are you ready to finally meet your mother-in-law this afternoon?" Mapi asks you while you leave for morning training together. Finally, your home was fixed from the pipe, and you were able to finally live there. There was still a lot of work to do as you had to basically furnish the apartment, which had been really hard, especially when you were away for most of the day.

Thankfully, Mapi offered to help build a table that you had bought from Ikea in your living room, so with some help, your home was starting to take shape.

"She is not my mother-in-law. I am not currently in a relationship."

"I still don't understand why you can't tell her how you feel."

"Fear of rejection. Or fear that it's going to turn out like my previous relationship. Fear of being just delusional or fear of-"

"Okay, you have made your point! I just feel like you should; maybe you'll find out that she feels the same."

"Yeah, right. As if someone like her could fall for someone like me. She's way out of my league. But anyway, you have met Alexia's sister and mom, how are they? Do you have any tips?"

"They are going to love you. Just be yourself."

"That's not helping, Mapi." You chuckle.

"Ugh, just be polite and show that you genuinely care for Alexia. They are very protective of her. Don't show off, and don't be too shy. But I really don't think you are going to have a problem doing all that."

As soon as you went home, you quickly got ready in your desolate apartment; as soon as you were done, Alexia texted you.

Your Favorite Kickboxer ;)

I'll be here in 5 minutes.

The nerves were kinda getting to you, so you paced around your empty living room until Alexia came knocking at your door. As soon as she saw you, she quickly gave you a hug and pecked your lips. 

"Hey, Cariño, are you ready?"

"So ready! You don't even know!" You fake out.

"Okay, yeah. You have to work on your lying skills. What's up? You don't have to come if you don't want to." She says calmly.

"It's not that Ale. I'm just nervous. I haven't met the mom and sister of a girl I am seeing since my ex. I'm just nervous, that's it."

"They'll love you, believe me. Now, take a deep breath; everything will be fine. We will go to my mom's for lunch, and she will show you some of my baby pictures, trying to embarrass me, and my sister will do the same. Then we'll get back home, cuddle up on the couch, and watch some of your sappy movies, okay?" You slowly nod, feeling a slight motivation through her words. "Now are you ready, cariño?"

You slightly nod, and she leads you to her car, but before that, you stop her and gently kiss her lips. "Thank you. You know I really, really like you?" You tell her.

"I really, really like you too."

-

You get to Alexia's mom's house, and the first thing she does is go up and hug you. You were taken by surprise, but after a second of shock, you quickly reciprocated.

"You must be Y/n, right?"

"Yes, it's me. You have a lovely house."

She takes you into the living room, and then she quickly disappears into the kitchen while Alba appears out of her room to see you.

You lightly chat with her until Alexia's mom screams for the two girls to come and help her; they quickly get into the small kitchen, clearly not knowing what to do.

"Do you need help, Eli?" You ask shyly.

"Oh no, you are the guest." She says, gently smacking your hands away from the pan you were stirring.

"Oh really, it's no biggie. I love cooking, plus I know how much Ale is a disaster in the kitchen. I can help if you like." You offer politely.

"For your information, I am a great cook," Alexia says, slightly offended. Neither her sister nor her own mother backed her up. All knowing how bad she was, making you chuckle. 

"Don't worry, mija, you have some great qualities too." Her mom lightly teases Alexia, making her pout cutely.

As soon as lunch was ready, you helped set up the table, and you sat down.

"So, Y/n, how do you like Barcelona?"

"Oh, I love it here. I just had a minor slip-up with my apartment, but now everything is fixed."

"You are from Italy, right? Because I don't hear any accent." Her mom asks curiously.

"Well, I lived in Spain for a long time before moving clubs. I played for Atletico Madrid with Mapi."

"So you must be happy having her back as your teammate."

"I'm really glad. Plus, Barcelona has always been my dream club."

"Is it difficult being away from home?"

"Well, I left my home in Italy when I was really young; I left to study in the USA."

"Oh wow, what did you study there?" Alba asks you.

"I studied physiotherapy."

"So when you retire from football, you could become a therapist for Barcelona or some other football club," Alexia suggests.

"Well, I could, but I actually work with prosthesis. I studied to help people who have lost their limbs to build them prosthesis."

"I didn't know that!" Ale tells you, shocked but also proud.

-

Lunch proceeded great. Ale's mom and Alba were just like Mapi pictured them. Fiercely loyal and protective of one another. You really hoped that you made a good impression because even though you weren't in an actual relationship with Alexia, meeting her family felt like a huge step, and you'd hate for them to not feel like Ale made the right decision by seeing each other.

What you really liked, though, was the fact that you could see how much Alexia was being herself around her family. She didn't have her walls up, nor did she have to keep up with her duties as the captain. She was just herself, and you were lucky enough to be able to experience it and be part of her inner circle.

As soon as lunch was finished, you stood up to help Ale's mom clean up the table, and then you brought the dessert that you had made for the occasion.

"I didn't have much time to prepare something fancier; my kitchen is still a mess."

"You didn't have to prepare anything!" Ale's mom replies while she cuts open the cake you had stress baked for the occasion.

"My parents always taught me to never walk into a home as a guest empty-handed." You simply reply. "And really, it's nothing. I love baking, so actually, you gave me an excuse to make something."

"You know, Y/n, out of all of the girls that Alexia has brought home, you might be the nicest." You turn your head down, blushing, while Alexia, embarrassed, calls out her mother.

"Well, I think that just the fact that you are here means a lot. You know, Y/n, Alexia had a very bumpy love life." Alba calls her sister out, making Alexia send her a death glare.

You were too curious now, "I wanna hear all the details." You rub your hands, waiting for Alba to fill you in.

"Well, Alexia had many situationships that ended rather quickly." 

"Alba!" Alexia warns her.

"One lasted two weeks I think, with this nice girl. For the record, she was really nice. The poor girl had the misfortune to be a cat person. Nana didn't like her, so she stopped seeing her."

"For the record, I don't regret it! My Nala is my best matchmaker, and I could never be in a relationship with someone who doesn't like my dog, who's currently living with me."

You chuckle lightly at her, "Thankfully, Nala likes me, or else, I wouldn't have lasted even a day." You tease Alexia, remembering how you met the small dog when you first hooked up with her, how Nala would try to get her owner's attention, but she was too busy on you to actually care.

"Well, thankfully, you are also a Barça fan because my sister left a fucking date because they were a Madrid fan."

"Okay, it did not go like that." Ale tries to explain herself, but she is soon cut off by her sister again.

"You told her that you played football, and she made a small comment about how she slightly preferred Madrid to Barcelona."

"She wanted me to go to the Bernabeu with her." She pauses. "On the Madrid section!"

"Poor girl, you turned down a girl just because of her club preference?" You chuckled at her stubbornness.

"She was also very annoying." 

"How many dates did you go with the Madritista?" You ask her.

"One." You all burst out laughing.

"The next girl instead, more than a situationship, was a failed date. She was a friend of a friend of mine, and after the date, Ale called me and I asked how the date went, and she replied that she thought that the girl was amazing, but she didn't like the outfit, so it wouldn't work." Alba chuckles hard, making you shake your head teasingly at Alexia.

"In my defense, she was amazing, but the outfit was too distracting, so much so that it felt like our personalities wouldn't go together."

"You got all that by an outfit?" You ask her incredulously.

"Yes." She states bluntly making you playfully shake your head at her.

-

By the time lunch was finished, you were about to leave.

"It was lovely meeting the both of you. I really hope I'll see you soon." You go to hug the two women and then leave to go to the car, waiting for Alexia to say the final goodbye.

When Ale gets into the car, she sits in the driver's seat, takes your hand, and kisses it.

"Thank you for coming." 

"Thank you, for inviting me. Now let's go home; we have a couch to build."

As you get home, Ale quickly gets ready to build your Ikea couch while you take some of your most valuable stuff, like family pictures or small trinkets that hide memories that you will forever treasure. 

You were unpacking the first ball they gave you when you scored your first hat trick, then you moved to a larger box, and you soon felt overwhelmed by how much stuff you had to unpack, making you slightly regret your life choices. 

Alexia was still on the floor trying to build up your couch when she suddenly resurfaced clumsily. 

"Why are those instructions so difficult? I just feel like Ikea should be better at making them. I should ask Frido." She complains to herself, making you chuckle from across the room. 

As you looked at her while she was building your couch, without anything in return, just simply to make you feel more at home, a warm feeling spread through your chest.

You just smiled. Smiled at the woman who came out of nowhere and turned your life around. Smiled at the woman who had taken your heart without you noticing it. And then you realize that maybe what you had with Alexia right now wasn't enough for you. You wanted more. Because those feelings that you had slowly built over time weren't avoidable anymore. What you had with her wasn't enough, and you realized that you couldn't pretend anymore that you were okay with it. 

You needed to be alone, to think, to prepare yourself. Just her being in the same house as you was just too much. You were feeling too much. Feeling too much for her.

So you quickly stood up, crossing your arms, unconsciously wanting to close yourself off as much as possible.

"Ale, I need you to get out."

She turns towards you and sees how much you were shaken. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is good. I just need you to leave, please." You try to be as convincing as possible. 

"Everything is not good. You are not good. Tell me what's wrong." She rubs your shoulders soothingly in worry.

You don't know why, but your mind figured that it would be best if you'd just rip the bandaid off.

"Ale, I think we have a problem." You take a deep breath. "I think I'm in love with you."

There was no turning back now. You could take your words back, so you waited patiently as her brows furrowed and then quickly fixed in a soft expression.

"I think we have two problems then. Because I think I am in love with you too."

#alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas #alexia putellas imagine #alexia putellas one shot #woso imagine #woso #woso fanfics

[tu-es-gegg]

untuk hari bahasa ini, saya cubalah mengajarkan semua tentang sikit budaya melayu dan berkongsi kosa kata juga (ENG TRANSLATION)

(for this language day, I will try to teach a little about Malay culture and share vocabulary as well)

i made the original post detailing some fun stuff abt my culture of being malay (specifically from perspective living as a Malay from Singapore), i want to do an english translation so its more accessible to those who don't speak malay. This isnt an exact translation (plus im adding mroe additonal info) so keep that inmind

FIRST, what is the Malay language? This is an Austronesian language, also the national language in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. Malay is usually written in Latin script, also known as Rumi. There is also Jawi script based on Arabic writing. If you want to know (most) letters in Jawi, this is a video stuck in my head from Andalus (I'm bad at writing in Jawi and Arabic too, even though I study, I don't know much;;;)

Malay culture is deeply connected with Muslim culture, that's why a lot of malay festivities and celebrations revolve around the islamic calender. one such celebration is Hari Raya. there are two ceremonies; Aidilfitri and Haji, I will talk about Hari Raya Aidilfitri only because it is close this year and most well known (for context, its litterally in april this year).

The previous month is Ramadan where we fast/puasa. We do not eat from Subuh (around sunrise) to Maghrib (around sunset) (these are two of the names of the prayer times, in Islam we are supposed to pray around 5 times a day during different intervals. it goes Subuh, Zohor, Asar, Maghrib, Isyak). Before dawn, want to eat Sahur and then pray. At Maghrib, want to eat to break the fast/ berbuka puasa (usually say "buka" for short). Also in this month before Aidifilti, the family will prepare by cleaning the house for visitors, buy new baju kurung, get kuih, etc etc.

aaaa there are a lot of kuih, here's anything I can name (many are from Singapore); kuih lapis, kuih salat? ondeh ondeh, kuih bahulu, kuih dadar, BISKUT CORNFLAKES OMG does that count?. there are many more lol.

ALSO! In Singapore, during Ramadan, there is a huge Night Market in Geylang. Not only in Geylang there is a night market but this is very popular. There are MANY stalls selling food. Everyone who buys from geylang night market knows Ramly Burger, deep-fried Oreos, vadai, KEBAB, DENGDENG. (I like to buy rolled ice cream and chicken kebab mmmm)

In Geylang too, they will buy traditional clothes to visit family. Baju kurung (ehh for traditional clothes, women wear baju kurung, men wear baju melayu but the names are the same anyway) is the normal clothing. Often, one household will choose to coordinate colors together (but it's not mandatory, lmao my family doesn't care)

For men, they wear songkok (that flat black hat) and samping (the long scarf wrapping around the waist)

For women, wear a sarong (skirt) with a long top. If desired, will also wear a tudung (type of hijab) (i should also clarify for muslim women its their choice whether they want to habitually wear hijab. its not just specific to just baju kurung. for example i have lots of aunties that dont wear hijab at all meanwhile i have a lot of aunts who do)

Baju kurung is also worn at other festivities, such as weddings

(my whole childhood I attended so many weddings, this is another topic lmaooooo)

On Hari Raya Aidifilti but before going to raya (this is what we generally call going out to see family), close family in will ask for forgiveness. (it's important the forgiveness is not one-sided, the adults will also ask forgiveness from the younger family members too). Usually this is when people start crying. After that, we go RAYA!!! When in someone else's house, if you are not working now, you can get duit raya! (because I grew up in singapore surrounded by chinese influence, I also call this "angpao" too)

OHHHH THERE IS A LOT OF FOOD;;;; My grandmother would cook a lot during Ramadan and Hari Raya. Rendang, lontong, KETUPAT OHHH KETUPAT, CHICKEN CURRY (my mother every aidifitri cooks green chicken curry, FOR HARI RAYA AIDIFITRI ONLY, ohhhhh that's my favorite part, ASBFKASB I'M HUNGRY.)

(theres also like way more cuisine than this, iu havent even mentioned nasi goreng and nasi lemak and briyani and FUCKIGN BEGEDIL;;;;)

ketupat is kind of icon to represent Aidifilti holiday, for example:

other icons of hari raya include: bunga api, neon string lights, bamboo torches, etc.

I love Hari Raya even thoug my feet hurt ALOT after visiting LOTS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS OH MY GOD:;; it's okay if you take your shoes off in the house somehow your FEET WILL HURT at the end of the day;;;;;;

uhhhh others about malay culture? we have art! A martial art is silat melayu! I don't know much about this but it's great

there is performance art: one example is dikir barat

juga ada permainan, ada yang terkenal ialah wau (kite)

and congkak (like that one club penguin game, mancala, im not kidding)

there are many malay cultures that are also from indonesian culture because of its influence. (Mainly malay culture was influenced by its neighboring cultures such as from Thailand, Sumatra, Java. Malay culture were from Hinduism before then converting to Islam) That's why we have wayang kulit (natively from Java) (a lot of indonesian culture and malay cultures share similar things because of kinda their similar roots and their spread of their own culture, hence why we also have similar dishes, traditonal clothes, even our language is kinda 70% the same)

Do you know; Singapore was discovered by Sang Nila Utama and was originally Malay kingdom (at that time the island was called Temasek before it was owned by the British) (the original indigenous of Singapore are called Orang Laut, litterally translated to "people of the sea"). That is why in Singapore, the language and the national anthem (Majulah Singapura) is in Malay. Singapore is not only for Chinese people, we Malays and Indians are also here;;;

(and im not at all from malaysia god please none of my relatives are. Malaysian is referring to the country, Malay is the language and the ethnic group)

There's a whole lot more I haven't even touched on, like lmao there's a whole thing about weddings and a whole baby shower thing.

theres also a lot of singaporean stuff i want to share i haven't even mentioned singlish but thats a post for another time

#txt post #language day #bahasa melayu #malay #Youtube

[tomorrowusa]

A lot of people won't like hearing this, but the meat industry is terrible for this planet.

Last weekend, Elon Musk posted one of his more outrageously false tweets to date: “Important to note that what happens on Earth’s surface (eg farming) has no meaningful impact on climate change.” Musk was, as he has been from time to time, wrong. As climate experts rushed to emphasize, farming actually accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Musk spewing disinformation is not exactly news. But even by his standards, his contention regarding livestock agriculture and climate was on a par with George Santos's fantasies.

The tens of billions of chickens, pigs, cows, and other animals we raise and slaughter for food annually account for around 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from cow burps, animal manure, and the fertilizer used to grow the corn and soy they eat. More than one-third of the Earth’s habitable land is used for animal farming — much of it cleared for cattle grazing and growing all thatcorn and soy — making animal agriculture the leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss globally. Deforestation causes emissions itself, but it also represents a missed opportunity to sequester carbon. If that land were “rewilded,” or retired as farmland, it would act as a carbon sink, sucking massive amounts of climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere. But we keep clearing more and more forestland, especially in the Amazon rainforest and elsewhere in the tropics, mostly for beef, pork, and poultry.

Yep, livestock grazing accounts for almost a third of our usable land.

The message regarding livestock agriculture just isn't getting out.

Madre Brava also conducted a media analysis that found that between 2020 and 2022, less than 0.5 percent of stories about climate change by leading news outlets in the US, the United Kingdom, and Europe mentioned meat or livestock. Last month, two groups that work on issues related to animal agriculture — Sentient Media and Faunalytics — published an analysis with similar findings. The organizations looked at the 100 most recent climate change stories from each of the top 10 US media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN, and found that 7 percent mentioned animal agriculture. Of that 7 percent, most only discussed how climate change-fueled weather events like droughts, floods, and heatwaves impact animal farmers. “Across the 1,000 articles we examined, only a handful of stories reported in depth on the connection between consuming animal products and climate change,” the researchers wrote. The media is an easy target, and some criticism is deserved — it’s a disservice to readers to largely ignore a leading cause of the climate crisis. Part of the problem is that the media, like everyone else, operates in an information environment in which the meat lobby downplays and in some cases suppresses the full extent to which burgers, ribs, and chicken nuggets pollute the planet. But journalists could be doing more to cut through the noise.

We need to speak up more ourselves. Entrenched interests and powerful lobbying groups are not shy about promoting livestock businesses which harm the planet.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the industry’s leading lobby group, runs a “climate messaging machine,” food journalist Joe Fassler recently wrote in the Guardian, that trains influencers to confuse the public and downplay beef’s emissions. The list goes on. Last year, leaked documents showed that delegates from Brazil and Argentina successfully lobbied the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to remove any mention of meat’s negative impact on the environment, or recommendations for people in rich countries to reduce their meat consumption, in its recent report. Meat giant Tyson Foods spends a much bigger share of its revenue than ExxonMobil lobbying Congress to stop climate policy. Outside the animal rights movement, there aren’t many voices pushing back against these narratives. The US environmental movement has largely shied away from campaigning to reduce meat and dairy production, with some leaders outright rejecting the notion that we need to eat fewer animals. Policymakers largely avoid the issue too.

We have a lot of catching up to do – and fast.

“The food conversation is probably about 20 years behind the energy conversation, and it is catching up, but it’s not visceral to people in the way energy is — that they immediately know energy is a climate issue,” said Michael Grunwald, a food and agriculture columnist for Canary Media, in the Sentient Media panel discussion. But time is in short supply. Experts say that if we don’t change what we eat — especially reducing beef and dairy — we can’t meet the Paris climate agreement of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less.

In addition to publicizing the issue, we can lead by example. Eating less meat or even no meat lets people know we're serious about what we're saying.

There will be pushback from the industry and also from populist blowhards. We can imagine at least one saying something like: "Hunter Biden wants to steal your double cheeseburger. SAD!"

But no discussion of carbon emissions is complete without talk of livestock agriculture and its effects.

#the environment #climate change #carbon emissions #meat #livestock agriculture #livestock grazing #deforestation #elon musk #disinformation #rewilding #vegetarian #vegan

[eclipsedcrystalstar]

HMSW Incorrect quotes cause why not

Heart: Remain CALM! *slaps Mind multiple times*

Whole: Accidentally indulged in too much ‘free time’, turns out I’ve been reported missing for over six months and presumed dead by most local and national authorities.

Heart, writing in their diary with a glitter gel pen: I'm losing my sense of humanity. Nothing matters. God is dead. There's blood on my hands.

Soul: Why are you smiling? Mind: What? I can’t just be happy? Whole: Heart tripped and fell in the parking lot.

Soul: I have the sharpest memory here - name one time I forgot something! Mind: You left me and Heart in a Walmart parking lot at 2am a day ago. Soul: I did that on purpose, try again.

Soul: I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.

Whole: What is love? Heart: An emotional minefield. Mind: A neurochemical reaction. Soul: Baby don't hurt me.

Heart: Am I right, Mind? Mind: I’m almost certain you’re not, but to be fair, I wasn’t listening.

Heart: When I first met you, I did not like you. Mind: I'm aware of that. Heart: But then you and I had some time together. Mind: Uh-huh? Heart: It did not get better.

Soul: When I get Doordash I order 20 Cheeseburgers at a time and heat them up throughout the week so that I don’t have to pay the delivery fee multiple times. Mind: I hope you understand how food poisoning works. Soul: I hope food poisoning understands how I work. I never met a burger i couldn’t eat.

Soul: Clownery. Tomfoolery. Absolute fuckery, I am going to revoke your life privileges.

Heart: I hate to disagree with you, but- Mind: Please, you love to disagree with me. Its your favorite thing to do.

#Chonny jash #chonny rambles #incorrect quotes

[wanderingblindly]

Yay tag game time!!!! Thank you @borntogayz and @ravenrage27 <3333

what color are your eyes?

Medium brown?

tell me about your pets. or your dream pet.

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MY TEENY TINY LITTLE CAT HONEY!!!! She's a total coward, I love her more than anything in the world. I adopted her at six months old <3333

share some interesting fact about yourself.

My go-to fun fact is that I won a FIFA medal when I was in my teens, but a vaguely more recent fun fact is that I was almost deported from Japan during my study abroad after being PROFILED AS A DRUG DEALER????

what was the first fandom you were a part of?

Visual Kei in like, 2011? After that was Dan and Phil (shame, shame)

do you have any phobias?

Not a phobia per se, but I couldn't touch cardboard for most of my life; I still can't bring myself to touch Styrofoam and Sherpa. Oh, and the national alarm systems/automated alarm voices make me cry/physically ill.

are you a picky eater? if so, what food can't you stand?

Not really! I'll try anything once, at least. But, unfortunately, most nigiri or sashimi -- the texture of raw fish doesn't work for me.

do you eat the burger and fries at the same time? or one after another?

One after another, but the fries are going in a milkshake whenever possible.

winter or summer?

Winter!!!! I'm too sweaty for summer and it sucks!!!!

what fanfiction tropes are your favorite?

SWEET FLUFFY STUPID AUS!!! Coffee shop AUs? Bookstore related AUs? College/University AUs? Inject them directly into my bloodstream.

are you studying or working? what did you study, what is your job?

I work full time! I'm a data analyst/UI sort of mess.

what is the last country you visited?

Italy, 2018 (jesus christ has it really been that long?? changing this asap)

what country would you want to move to after retiring?

Hmmm maybe somewhere in Scandinavia? I haven't thought much about this.

who was your first crush?

I think Bill Kaulitz when I was like, 11. Strong start.

how did you get into f1 fandom?

I looked up f1 tags on AO3 as a """""""joke""""""" one time, then realized f1blr existed after devouring all the sebchal available to me. And now I'm here, thriving.

Idk who hasn't been tagged!!! maybe @ocontraire, @jennarations, @albonoooo, @creabirds???

#tag games :) #never forgot the deportation story of 2018 or whatever lmfao #rambling.txt

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 31, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 01, 2024

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order instructing the National Park Service to “highlight important figures and chapters in women’s history.” “Women and girls of all backgrounds have shaped our country’s history, from the ongoing fight for justice and equality to cutting-edge scientific advancements and artistic achievements,” the announcement read. “Yet these contributions have often been overlooked. We must do more to recognize the role of women and girls in America’s story, including through the Federal Government’s recognition and interpretation of historic and cultural sites.”

In a time when American women are seeing their rights stripped away, it seems worthwhile on this last day of Women’s History Month to highlight the work of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who challenged the laws that barred women from jobs and denied them rights, eventually setting the country on a path to extend equal justice under law to women and LGBTQ Americans.

Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1933, in an era when laws, as well as the customs they protected, treated women differently than men. Joan Ruth Bader, who went by her middle name, was the second daughter in a middle-class Jewish family. She went to public schools, where she excelled, and won a full scholarship to Cornell. There she met Martin Ginsburg, and they married after she graduated. “What made Marty so overwhelmingly attractive to me was that he cared that I had a brain,” she later explained. Relocating to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for her husband’s army service, Ginsburg scored high on the civil service exam but could find work only as a typist. When she got pregnant with their daughter, Jane, she lost her job.

Two years later, the couple moved back east, where Marty had been admitted to Harvard Law School. Ginsburg was admitted the next year, one of 9 women in her class of more than 500 students; a dean asked her why she was “taking the place of a man.” She excelled, becoming the first woman on the prestigious Harvard Law Review. When her husband underwent surgery and radiation treatments for testicular cancer, she cared for him and their daughter while managing her studies and helping Marty with his. She rarely slept.

After he graduated, Martin Ginsburg got a job in New York, and Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class. But in 1959, law firms weren’t hiring women, and judges didn’t want them as clerks either—especially mothers, who might be distracted by their “familial obligations.” Finally, her mentor, law professor Gerald Gunther, got her a clerkship by threatening Judge Edmund Palmieri that if he did not take her, Gunther would never send him a clerk again.

After her clerkship and two years in Sweden, where laws about gender equality were far more advanced than in America, Ginsburg became one of America’s first female law professors. She worked first at Rutgers University—where she hid her pregnancy with her second child, James, until her contract was renewed—and then at Columbia Law School, where she was the first woman the school tenured.

At Rutgers she began her bid to level the legal playing field between men and women, extending equal protection under the law to include gender. Knowing she had to appeal to male judges, she often picked male plaintiffs to establish the principle of gender equality. 

In 1971 she wrote the brief for Sally Reed in the case of Reed vs. Reed, when the Supreme Court decided that an Idaho law specifying that “males must be preferred to females” in appointing administrators of estates was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Warren Burger, who had been appointed by Richard Nixon, wrote: “To give a mandatory preference to members of either sex over members of the other…is to make the very kind of arbitrary legislative choice forbidden by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” to the Constitution.

In 1972, Ginsburg won the case of Moritz v. Commissioner. She argued that a law preventing a bachelor, Charles Moritz, from claiming a tax deduction for the care of his aged mother because the deduction could be claimed only by women, or by widowed or divorced men, was discriminatory. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit agreed, citing Reed v. Reed when it decided that discrimination on the basis of sex violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

In that same year, Ginsburg founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Between 1973 and 1976, she argued six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court. She won five. The first time she appeared before the court, she quoted nineteenth-century abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sarah Grimké: “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”

Nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, she was confirmed by a vote of 96 to 3. Clinton called her “the Thurgood Marshall of gender-equality law.”

In her 27 years on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg championed equal rights both from the majority and in dissent (which she would mark by wearing a sequined collar), including her angry dissent in 2006 in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber when the plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter, was denied decades of missing wages because the statute of limitations had already passed when she discovered she had been paid far less than the men with whom she worked. “The court does not comprehend or is indifferent to the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination,” Ginsburg wrote. Congress went on to change the law, and the first bill President Barack Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

In 2013, Ginsburg famously dissented from the majority in Shelby County v. Holder, the case that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The majority decided to remove the provision of the law that required states with histories of voter suppression to get federal approval before changing election laws, arguing that such preclearance was no longer necessary. Ginsburg wrote: “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” As she predicted, after the decision, many states immediately began to restrict voting.

Ginsburg’s dissent made her a cultural icon. Admirers called her “The Notorious R.B.G.” after the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., wore clothing with her image on it, dressed as her for Halloween, and bought RBG dolls and coloring books. In 2018 the hit documentary "RBG" told the story of her life, and as she aged, she became a fitness influencer for her relentless strength-training regimen. She was also known for her plain speaking. When asked when there would be enough women on the Supreme Court, for example, she answered: “[W]hen there are nine.”

Ginsburg’s death on September 18, 2020, brought widespread mourning among those who saw her as a champion for equal rights for women, LGBTQ Americans, minorities, and those who believe the role of the government is to make sure that all Americans enjoy equal justice under law. Upon her passing, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Justice Ginsburg paved the way for so many women, including me. There will never be another like her. Thank you RBG.”

Just eight days after Ginsburg’s death, then-president Donald Trump nominated extremist Amy Coney Barrett to take her seat on the court, and then–Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rushed her confirmation hearings so the Senate could confirm her before the 2020 presidential election. It did so on October 26, 2020. Barrett was a key vote on the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, the Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion.

Ginsburg often quoted Justice Louis Brandeis’s famous line, “The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people,” and she advised people to “fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” 

Setting an example for how to advance the principle of equality, she told the directors of the documentary RBG that she wanted to be remembered “[j]ust as someone who did whatever she could, with whatever limited talent she had, to move society along in the direction I would like it to be for my children and grandchildren.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #history #women's history #women #Ruth Bader Ginsburg #women's rights #US History

[cubicle-eyes]

Hunt

Eddie Munson , Male!Reader

Angsty ish. I can't write so I tried my best, lol.

PLATONIC

Eddie and Reader are best friends

The word 'fag' is used in an endearing/teasing way. Reader has no reactions to it.

--------

Y/N had his bags packed, his car loaded. His room in his parents house was empty, excluding the bed, dresser, and a few clothing peices he'd have to come back for. He was moving away from Hawkins so he could get something done in his life, but it felt like the end of an era. The end of a friendship. Y/N had somehow managed to keep his moving a secret for months, putting off telling his friends for too long, and now it was too late. He had made rounds to everybody but his favorite person. Y/N wiped his face, making sure any tears from his goodbye with Steve, Nancy, and Robin were acvounted for and promptly thrown away into the emotion bin. He rung the little doorbell to Eddie's trailer.

Wayne opened the door, and the sense of relief that flood over Y/N's senses had him involuntarily break into a grin.

"Mr. Munson."

"Bastard child."

"Yep. I came with some, uh.. news."

"..I have to go, but Eddie's here, tell him and he can-"

"I'm moving. Today."

Y/N blurted. Je could read what emotion went through the mans eyes, but the sigh and tight, fatherly hug had Y/N clutching onto him.

"I'll miss ya, kid. Send us a letter. We'll be here."

"Will do, Wayne. Will do."

"..Break it easy to the kid, alright?"

"Always."

Y/N pulled away, and Wayne pat his shoulder before striding past him with heavy steps, getting into his truck. He honked twice, pulling out, and Y/N waved him off before stepping into the trailer and shutting the door.

"Eddie, where are you!"

"I don't know, where am I?"

He called, stepping out of his room. He was pulling on a shirt, as  he grinned at Y/N, walking over. Y/N scoffed, fiing his unruly brown curls before sighing. Eddie cocked his head.

"Hey, what's up? Heard you talking to my uncle outside."

"Oh, right. Let's go to your room."

"How forward."

Y/N gagged, and Eddie went into another bout of laughter. He flopped on his back onto the unmade bed, but sat back up once Y/N shut the door.

"Hey, something serious? What, did somebody die?"

"I'm moving away. To New York."

"..What? When?"

Y/N saw the urgency to his words, and stayed silent. Eddie cursed, burying his head in his hands and throwing his back on his bed.

"God, damnit!"

"Eddie-"

"Why didn't you say anything sooner!? We could've- I-I don't know- Done something! Make it special!"

"Eds, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry!"

He snapped. His eyes were watery, and Y/N had just realized he was also tearing up. He sat down next to Eddie as the boy sat up again, rubbing his face.

"I wish you would've said something. Anything."

"I know. I just.. I don't want to ruin the rest of your summer."

"Well, it's going to be pretty bland without my smoke buddy, isn't it?"

Eddie sniffed, laughing forcibly. Y/N grabbed him, hugging him. Eddie was shaking, terrfied of loosing his best friend.

"I'm going to come visit every holiday, you hear me? Every holiday! Even, like, national burger day!"

"Yeah.."

"..."

The silence was heavy, and Y/N and Eddie sat clutched to each other in the confines of his room. From outside, prying eyes, it could be seen romantically, but they were brothers, best friends. Eddie and Y/N had their respective crushes, both male, but it could never be each other.

"Hey, it's still hunt the freaks, alright? I'm just..," Y/N sniffled, laughing airily as Eddie pulled away. "I'm just giving them a hell of a chase."

"You're going to tear that city up by it's roots, alright?"

Eddie had a serious face, his fists were balled up on top of Y/N's own, a little thing they'd always done.

"I'm going to give that city a whole new look when I'm done with it. It'll be the gayest, most bitchin' town you ever saw. Because you're gonna come see it."

I'm going to make you drive your cheap-ass van all the way up there, and then make you navigate the streets until you find me. Alright?"

"Yes sir. I got it."

Y/N smiled, and Eddie caught the contagious virus of happiness. Y/N stood, pulling Eddie up to give him a proper hug.

"I have to go."

"Don't forget me."

"Every holiday, loser!"

Y/N called, flipping Eddie off and starting towards the door.

"If I'm the loser, you're the dork!"

"Bloodsucker."

"Fag."

"Always will be. I'll see you soon, Munson."

"See you soon, L/N."

-----

Spoiler he dies before Y/N gets to visit 👹 ( jk he lives forever 😠😠 )

#Platonic #eddie munson #stranger things x trans reader #stranger things x you #stranger things x male reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things #platonic #fanfiction #writing #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x male reader #eddie #eddie the freak munson #eddie x reader #eddie x male reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie x y/n

[yandere-romanticaa]

Enjoy this random thing that came to mind (this isn't America from Hetalia tho lol) enjoy the pure crack down below

yandere! American who comes to your country, ready to face off new challenges and meet new people, who's face shines bright with wonder as he walks through the city and absorbes every piece of information he can get his hands on like a sponge. He's oblivious to how vocal he can be with his praises and words of awe but never the less still presses on, ignoring all of the angry shouts that come his way.

yandere! American who sees you in the street and is immediately intrigued by you - how are you so elusive, so skilled, so cunning? Teach him, teach him of everything there is to teach!! However, he soon realizes that he outsmarts you in everything you do no matter how well you say you do in certain fields. He's clearly more skilled than you, you should just let him take care of you!

yandere! American who follows you wherever you go and tells you stories about the US and his various adventures in the greatest country in the world. Camping in the summer months with marshmallows, stuffing his face with burgers after a good soccer practice, he even tries to teach you the national anthem! The political debates, the history, he wants you to pick a side and you need to pick one NOW, no ifs, ands or buts!

yandere! American who tries to convince you to leave your home and come to him. There are better jobs where he lives, health care is a little fucked up but oh well! He keeps insisting that you are free to choose, the choice is yours and no one elses but his words contradict his actions. He's free as an eagle but he holds you in his claws in an iron grip, never allowing you to stray too far. You have a choice to make, it's just a little sad how one is obviously better than the other.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yancore #yanderecore #yandere aesthetic #yandere imagines #yandere x you #yandere male #yandere male x reader #american #yandere american #yandere american x reader

[always-andromeda]

“Fast food nation” is not really worth it, trust me. It’s… weird (not in an interesting way). There are Brian scene-packs on youtube that cover all the interesting parts. I mean, it still got me hooked on the character, but only because nasty-oily-Dano is my favourite Dano. My ex boyfriend used to work at McDonald’s, so maybe it’s a real-life-event-turned-into-fiction-kink?

Thanks for the quick answer! If you can’t bite the bullet, I’ll feed it to you: “La Belle Fluer Sauvage” (your choice, free your filthy mind, you always hit the checkpoint), Brian Wilcox.

Again, congrats congrats congrats!

Author's Note | Anon. I am gonna need to thank you but also strangle you for this request /j. I have tried so hard to keep requests simple and sweet for my sanity but I literally could not with this one. This shit is just over 2,300 words and I am not about it. Jesus Christ almighty, I went fucking buck wild here. 🤭 also. i got three requests for Brian. so I made them into like a mini trilogy. this is part two of that trilogy. next part will be out in an hour!!

Warnings | smut (MDNI), unprotected sex, sexual tension, Brian is a gross little greasy freak!!

You waste away your summer job at Mickey's like each day is just another everlasting big burger, all held together with plastic cheese and crammed in a box that's way too small. Meaning, it's all artificial. It's all disgusting and temporary and all a product of capitalism or some shit. That's how you describe yours and Brian's relationship.

His kisses are laced with salt and whatever flavor of energy drink he's fixated on at the moment. You would ask him to remember to brush his teeth in the mornings, but you doubt he'd actually do it. He doesn't like you nearly enough to actually take that into consideration for his morning routine. That's to say he even likes you at all.

Because you rarely get the idea that he does. You get the sense that he likes you as long as you kiss him back when he joins you in the walk-in freezer. As long as you laugh when he makes some corny joke about warming you up. Though nothing has ever gone further than quick makeouts and over the clothes action, you suspect that he wouldn't have any qualms with pulling his dick out right in front of the frozen burger patties.

But as soon as he crosses the imaginary line you've set for yourself, you're humming into his mouth, telling him you're getting cold, and that you don't want Tony to catch you. Then Brian makes some quip about how he thinks it would be fantastic, actually, if Mickey's employee of the month was caught in the walk-in with Mickey's worst employee of every month. You giggle sparingly, hoping that doesn't give him the wrong idea.

Because you want what he wants: fun. At least you hope that's what he wants too. Just a reprieve from the hell that is service work that isn't talking shit about Tony in the break room. And you have to admit, getting Brian flustered with a heated kiss is a bit more of a productive usage of your time.

Which is exactly why you avoid him on this day. Because the last time you made out with him in the walk in, you swear you felt him pop a boner. And you'd drawn your line at much less before. So the second you felt him bulging through his baggy pants and pressing against your abdomen, you were out of there.

Three days later, he's staring at you from inside the kitchen as if you're still blue balling him from where you work the cash register. He averts his eyes when you turn to read him the next order. But you know that when you greet another customer with a chipper, 'Hi, welcome to Mickey's! What can I get for you today?' he's right back to burning holes into the back of your head with his dark eyes.

You try your best to ignore him. Like he's some nightmare you had. Yet, just like a fever dream, he doesn't quite go away. He's right at the edge of your vision, flipping burgers with a bored expression. At least he always smiled when he kissed you. Well...he smirked. And it was annoyingly smug. Whatever. It was still better than the indifference he pretends to embody.

I know your secret, Brian Wilcox. With the pungent fumes of stale oil and a touch of mildew, you popped a boner in the walk-in freezer. Because you kissed me.

The thought liberates you until you clock out for the night. You walk to your car, keys laced between your fingers like your mother had taught you years ago. So when Brian grabs your wrist as you reach for your car door, you whip around, ready to hit him directly in the gut.

"Hey, hey, hey, Jesus--" Brian yells, dropping your wrist quickly and lunging away from your swinging fist, "It's just me...Jesus fucking Christ...were you trying to kill me?"

You hiss, "Were you trying to act like a fucking creep? Fuck, Brian-- It's late. What are you still doing here?" Hand over your chest, your shoulders slump and you eye him wearily, waiting for his excuse.

He doesn't bother apologizing. Just looks at you with his brow furrowed and says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"The other day..."

You sigh and wave him off, "I don't give a shit if Jason steals my chips from the break room, he can go ahead and have them--"

Of course Brian doesn't let you get away that easily, "Oh, fuck off with that. You know what I'm talking about."

"Do we really have to talk about it?"

"I think it's a good idea," he argues.

"Yeah, what a great idea. I kissed you and you're such a pussy that you got hard over it. So glad that I got to relive that. Thanks, Bri." you prepare to turn away from him when he catches your wrist once more.

"That's it?" he searches for an answer you don't want to give. "So...I'm guessing you...didn't like it?"

You snort and your reply comes out less sarcastic than you would've liked, "Oh, I absolutely loved it. When I applied here, I was just praying to get groped by some greasy asshole who can't keep it in his pants."

Brian snickers at your weak tone, "I bet you were."

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me you weren't and I'll leave you alone." he challenged you in a low, even voice that scares the shit out of you. Only it's not because he looms over you, daring you to prove him wrong. It's more the thought of working another day at this fucking restaurant without having his body and quick tongue to get you through it that startles you.

You go deadly silent, opting to stare down at where yours and his rubber soled shoes touch the asphalt.

"That's what I thought." Finally, he seems to understand how hard this is for you to admit to him.

Brian takes a deep breath and tries again, "I didn't think you'd want me either. If that makes you feel any better."

You answer quickly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so…mean.”

"Yes, you did." he insists, "But so did I."

You make tight fists with your hands, pressing your nails into your palms. Sniffing, you ask, "What are we gonna do now?"

Brian kicks one of his feet, tapping the tip of his shoe against yours. "Well...either we can drive home...separately. Or...maybe I could show you the backseat of my car."

A genuine laugh rips from your chest, "Jesus, Brian. Can you not act like you're gonna fucking murder me? If you want to mess around in your car, could you just ask like a normal person?"

His attitude floods his tone ferociously, "Fine, do you wanna fuck me in my backseat?"

The way your clit throbs at that makes you bite the inside of your cheek so hard you taste a tinge of copper. You try not to breathe when you say nonchalantly, "Yeah, sure."

Brian turns, walking a few steps to his car, parked two spaces down from yours. He opens the back passenger side for you in some fucked up, gentlemanly gesture.

"After you," he tilts his head towards the interior and you crawl in, immediately turning to lie on your back on the leather upholstery. When Brian joins you, he barely has enough space in the cramped backseat to perch between your legs. He keeps one hand on the back headrest and the other on the edge of the seat bracing himself there.

Brian hovers over you. That crooked smirk you liked so much is plastered across his pink face as he works at the buttons of your uniform, exposing your bare chest so fast that your skin forgets the feeling of the cool summer air from outside. Your chest rises and falls shallowly with your nervous breath.

Brian says slowly, "I hope you know...I really like it when you forget to put on a bra before coming to work. It's really fucking hot."

"It's not like I do it for your sake," you squeak out a pathetic attempt at a comeback.

"Never said you did, princess."

Oh. Fuck. Right. Off.

He leans in, eyes flickering from yours down to your swollen lips, "Are you gonna keep being snippy? Or are we gonna fuck?"

Please.

You nod fervently and reach for the collar of his uniform.

Brian simply moves back, dodging your grasp, "Come on, princess. I want you to say it. Or else I won't hesitate to leave your stubborn ass back here."

A mixture of anger and embarrassment mixing to form a flush on your cheeks and the tips of your ears, you crane your neck and finally grab his collar, bringing his lips back to yours, "Just fuck me, you asshole."

With a satisfied grin, Brian's lips mold against yours. His mouth open and tongue swiping across yours, you're just as breathless as you are in the walk in. But with his busted air conditioner and the atmosphere of the backseat dampening, not even your unbuttoned shirt could offer any relief from the heat.

Brian pulls away and studies you as you try to catch your breath. Moments pass and he shifts slightly, hovering over your chest. You watch him press his lips together and push out a fat glob of saliva from between them. The spit lands with a wet plop between your tits and you scoff at the humored expression on his face.

That's all before he ducks in again, this time to lick a long stripe up your chest, gathering the saliva on his tongue before wrapping his lips around one of your nipples and sucking. The high pitched moan you let out takes you by surprise as he switches to giving the other attention with a jarringly gentle kiss. He looks up at you through his dark hair with devious eyes. Then the hand bracing itself on the edge of the seat flies to the belt that holds up his pants under the loose fitting uniform.

Brian pulls down his pants and boxers just enough to poke out his solid cock, the tip practically pulsing and purple. He helps you take off your own bottoms, banging his head on the ceiling of his car in the process.

He winces and rubs at the back of his head, "Shit—"

The laugh you let out is cut off sharply when he presses his lips to yours again just to shut you up. But he doesn't just want to stifle your teasing. He also stifles your yelp as he slides himself into your wet cunt, leaving no room for adjustment or romance. He simply fills you out and groans as you tremble and tighten around him.

His lips falter in covering yours and you taste the sweat forming on his upper lip as he struggles to breathe out another moan.

No matter how many pretty sounds he makes for you as you struggle to take all of him without nearly choking on your own dwindling air supply, you tell yourself one thing. Remember, he doesn't actually like you. He likes your mouth and he likes your tits and he likes your pussy. Not. You.

Once he starts moving, you repeat it in your head over and over again every time his skin slaps against yours lewdly.

He doesn't like you. He doesn't like you. He doesn't like you.

You try to picture yourself twenty years from now. A born again Christian soccer mom with four kids, a minivan, and a husband who thinks women can't possibly have orgasms. You imagine a future where Brian is just a bad memory that you tell your friends over wine. That he's the reason why you'd tell your shitty husband to nip at your neck in bed or maybe try a new position. Because when Brian did it, it felt divine. And before you know it, you're circling back around to him.

Fuck. No matter how much rewiring you attempt, it goes back to Brian fucking Wilcox and you wish you could hate it.

You're entangling your fingers in his dark hair and pulling hard. His teeth bite a little deeper into your skin and you gasp at the sting.

"Jesus fucking Christ..." he curses loudly and you feel the full weight of every vulgar syllable reverberating in his throat.

He's good at this and he fucking knows it. You can tell by the way he chuckles slightly when you try to arch your back off of the leather backseat. All you want is to press more of your body against his. For some fucking reason, you need this summer fling to poison you worse than the preservatives Mickey's puts in their food does.

Already, you feel the good kind of chemicals coursing through your veins. Your uniform shirt rises up and the sweat clinging to your skin makes your lower back stick to the leather. And as soon as you peel yourself off of the seat and your chest meets his, you kiss him.

You make him swallow the sounds of arousal that come from deep inside you as his poison takes over all of your senses. Riding out the climax exerts all of your energy and leaves you gritting your teeth through overstimulation. You weakly attempt to clench around him for only a moment before Brian pulls out and jerks himself off a few more times with a tight fist.

Both sets of eyes blown out with lust, you and him watch as his cock twitches and then shoots thick ropes of cum that spill out over your chest, still practically glistening with the streaks his tongue left.

Thoroughly defiled and spent, you don't dare think of anything but his softening cock laying across your abdomen as he dips his head and catches his breath.

Voice now hoarse and thin, Brian says quietly, "Fuck man…I think— I think I really fucking like you..."

#strange trails milestone✨ #danonation #paul dano #danocel #fast food nation #brian wilcox #brian wilcox x reader #brian wilcox x you #brian wilcox x y/n #˚ʚ meda writes ɞ˚

[thegirlzkpop]

˗ˏˋ BASICS ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ stage name. minju

 ˗ˏˋ birth name. kang minju

     ……❪ 강민주 ❫

     ……❪ MEANING. the surname 'kang' means 'ginger' in korean origin. the name 'minju' meaning depends on different factors and can mean clever or gem ❫

 ˗ˏˋ nickname. pretty nerd ❪ by members ❫, 4th gen princess ❪ by fans ❫ minj ❪ by members ❫, brainiac ❪ by eric, kevin, paige, and jacob ❫ nerd ❪ by maknaes ❫, kju ❪ by haknyeon ❫, savage ❪ by members and fans ❫

 ˗ˏˋ birthday. august 10, 1997

 ˗ˏˋ zodiac sign. gemini

 ˗ˏˋ birth place. seogwipo, jeju province, south korea

 ˗ˏˋ hometown. seogwipo, jeju province, south korea

 ˗ˏˋ current residency. seoul, south korea

 ˗ˏˋ ethnicity. korean

 ˗ˏˋ nationality. korean

 ˗ˏˋ languages. korean ❪ native ❫, english ❪ basic ❫

˗ˏˋ PERSONALITY ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ mbti. intj-a ❪ architect ❫

 ˗ˏˋ description. architects are one of the rarest personality types out there. architects can be seen as rational and often think for themselves better than others. intjs are always questioning everything and often like to figure things out on their own. this personality type has the goal of being successful and wants things to work out their way with no intent on slowing down. this personality type is extremely independent and would rather be left to do things by themselves. even though the architects are insanely independent and don't care for others input, they are still very caring. this type can be very affected by others pain and sorrows, especially if caused by them. architects are always searching for new ideas and knowledge. they can often be labeled as nerds or book warms which isn't too far off. this being said, they often have trouble fitting into social events.

 ˗ˏˋ strengths. independent, smart, informed, determined, curious, original, creative, ambitious, confident, honest, open-minded

 ˗ˏˋ weaknesses. overly critical, anti-social, anxious, arrogant, cold at first, socially clueless, skeptical.

 ˗ˏˋ habits. zoning out when she uninterested, giving people the stank eye, resting bitch face, picking at her fingernails, finger tapping, freezing when she's scared, looking for her members in large crowds, holding someone's hand in crowded areas

 ˗ˏˋ phobias. large crowds ❪ agoraphobia, severe ❫, bridges ❪ gephyrophobia, severe ❫, bugs ❪ entomophobia, mild ❫

˗ˏˋ CAREER ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ occupation. kpop idol

 ˗ˏˋ labels. cre.ker entertainment ❪ 2017-2021 ❫, ist entertainment ❪ 2021-present ❫, kakao m; formerly loen ent ❪ 2017-present ❫, universal music ❪ 2022-present ❫

 ˗ˏˋ training time. 2017-2019, 2 year and 1 month

 ˗ˏˋ debut. december 7, 2019

     ……❪ age; 22 ❫

 ˗ˏˋ positions. visual, lead vocalist

 ˗ˏˋ known for. visuals, sarcasm, her iq, vocals,

 ˗ˏˋ representative number. 01

     ……❪ she chose 01 because she wants her and her members to always be number one ❫

 ˗ˏˋ designed color. lilac

 ˗ˏˋ rankings.

     ……❪ singing. 9/10 ❫

     ……❪ dancing. 8/10 ❫

     ……❪ rapping. 4/10 ❫

     ……❪ acting. 8/10 ❫

     ……❪ modeling. 10/10 ❫

     ……❪ songwriting. 8/10 ❫

     ……❪ composing. 6/10 ❫

     ……❪ choreographing. 4/10 ❫

     ……❪ speeches. 3/10 ❫

˗ˏˋ FAMILY ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ mom. n/a ❪ 1974 ❫

 ˗ˏˋ dad. n/a ❪ 1973 ❫

 ˗ˏˋ siblings. hyunmin ❪ 1995 ❫

 ˗ˏˋ pets. n/w

 ˗ˏˋ notable family. grandma ❪ 1953-2020 ❫

˗ˏˋ PHYSICAL ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ height. 165 cm ❪ 5'5'' ❫

 ˗ˏˋ weight. 47 kg ❪ 105 lbs ❫

 ˗ˏˋ blood type. a-

 ˗ˏˋ hair color. black

 ˗ˏˋ eye color. brown

 ˗ˏˋ body modifications. 12 piercings, 2 tattoos

 ˗ˏˋ face claim. miyeon ❪ (g)i-dle ❫

 ˗ˏˋ vocal claim. miyeon ❪ (g)i-dle ❫

 ˗ˏˋ voice claim. miyeon ❪ (g)i-dle ❫

 ˗ˏˋ dance claim. chaewon ❪ le sserafim ❫

˗ˏˋ INTERESTS ´ˎ˗

 ˗ˏˋ likes. reading, eating, writing short stories, movie nights, skinship; acts like she doesn't, chocolate, fruit, cake, anime, shopping, doing makeup, babysitting her niece, hot showers, sunsets, making others happy, documentaries, expensive jewelry and clothing, hair treatments, mugs, having her nails done

 ˗ˏˋ dislikes. veggies, burgers, mushrooms, bugs, rainy days, messy environments, reptiles, loud noises, driving, long plane rides, packing and unpacking.

 ˗ˏˋ favorites.

     ……❪ movies. cruella ❪ 2021 ❫, parasite ❪ 2019 ❫, the fallout ❪ 2021 ❫ breakfast at tiffany's ❪ 1961 ❫ grease ❪ 1978 ❫, harry potter ❪ 2001 ❫ ❫

     ……❪ shows. outer banks ❪ 2020 ❫, winx club ❪ 2004 ❫, stranger things ❪ 2016 ❫, you ❪ 2018 ❫, hunter x hunter ❪ 20011 ❫ ❫

     ……❪ colors. lilac and black ❫

     ……❪ food. shrimp, lobster, bread, chocolate, mango ❫

     ……❪ drinks. water, tea, pepsi, smoothie ❫

     ……❪ books. harry potter, the silent patient, kim jiyoung born in 1982, the hobit ❫

     ……❪ emojis. 🫶🏻🥭 ❫

     ……❪ musical artists. red velvet, iu, shinee, sunmi, hyuna, beyonce, dove cameron blackpink ❫

     ……❪ songs. allergy ❪ (g)i-dle ❫, girl on fire ❪ alicia key ft. nicki minaj❫, lilac ❪ iu ❫, let me down slowly ❪ alec benjamin ❫, noir ❪ sunmi ❫ ❫

˗ˏˋ TRIVIA ´ˎ˗

     ……❪ she has an iq of 140 ❫

     ……❪ she idolizes sunmi and iu a lot ❫

     ……❪ she has never had a pet but she's always wanted a dog or turtle ❫

     ……❪ she says her mom would push her to study a lot and she grew up not doing any sports, only studying. her family wasn't very supportive of her being a trainee ❫

     ……❪ she has struggled with anxiety since she was very young, but she says it's gotten better since then ❫

     ……❪ her older brother is a well known soccer player ❫

     ……❪ her dad taught her how to play piano when she was young because he though it would help her become smarter ❫

     ……❪ her first kiss was in kindergarten because a cute boys friends dared them to kiss each other during lunch, she says they got in trouble for it ❫

     ……❪ she was an ulzzang on instagram during predebut and was trending for a while back in 2017 and trended briefly in 2018 when she officially deleted her account ❫

     ……❪ she likes alcohol and will drink often in between schedules ❫

     ……❪ her grandma and her brother were her biggest supporters when she decided to become an idol and even helped her pay any tuitions and fees ❫

     ……❪ she enjoys acting and hopes to be in a drama one day ❫

#❛ ━━･❪ THE GIRLZ ⇢ profilez. ❫･━━ ❜ #❛ ━━･❪ THE GIRLZ ⇢ minju. ❫･━━ ❜ #kpop group #kpop oc #fictional kpop idol #kpop #kpop girls #kpopidol #the boyz oc #kpop oc gg #fictional idol oc #idol oc #kpop added member #kpop addition #the boyz added member #the boyz addition #the girlz #the boyz sub unit

[headingalaxys-spicy]

I have arisen from my deep slumber 😌

Could I request a part 2 for the Yandere Bully America ask? I like these kind of dynamics, which I also have discovered in another tumblr blog a few months ago, where America is being a total douche to the new country. I think their name was llamacup or something like that.

Anyway, have a nice day or night, thank you~

🥹😘

Hello there it’s 2023 and I’m filled with DETERMINATION ahahaha.

I want to answer all my story posts this year! 🌟

Tw: Death-of minor characters and torture.

✨⭐️Happy First Friday of the year⭐️✨

“You’ll never see the light of day again,” was a promise that hasn’t been broken.

Darkness became your new muse for crafting your mindset in captivity. Fear was on the loudspeaker having your mind teeter on the edge. When would you hear the dreaded clicks of his oxford loafers on the marble floor? Anxiety permeated your nervous system causing you to tremble like a neverending earthquake. How did things get this bad? Why, you? Why did it have to be you?

You felt hollow and sullen like a decaying tree succumbing to an infestation of black turpentine beetles. This is already after America stormed into your life like a hurricane and damaged you and your nation permanently with his supreme act of violence against you and Britain at the world meeting.

However while you may have been in captivity your love was not.

“Mr. Kirkland, how would you like us to give you some added assistance? We don’t have our duties at the palace today.” Some of his loyal long-time palace guards wanted to join in on Operation: Silent Alarm.

The messy golden haired blonde ceased his hurried pace towards the black Audi A1 car headed to the airport.

“It’s quite alright, gentlemen. I already have some of my best men with a solid plan to rescue Y/N.”

“Oh come on lad. You know that brute will definitely try to kill ye again. We can be a great backup after all we are trained and well equipped with weapons.”

Arthur couldn’t help but allow a small smile to form on his normally grumpy face. He loved how dedicated some of his people were to him and his royals. He still had to be as discreet as possible in order to get under that crafty American’s nose. It took him a few months in order to finally locate (Country Name). The bastard had her imprisoned in the New Hampshire wilderness underground in an elaborate labyrinth Alfred created back in the 60’s. He also had his pesky guards and security system to break through. Thankfully MI6 was more than ready to deal with this.

He again turned their offer down but requested that they be ready for him and his return with you. He would not be leaving without you. They relented and allowed him to leave so that the mission could begin. Arthur pressed the small button on his discreet earpiece.

“Testing operatives lavender and thyme do you read me? Have the both of you successfully landed in D.C. to carry on negotiations?”

A few moments drifted by while the diver started the car while Artheur continued to make sure all the pieces were in place for his rescue operation.

He waited tensely as he waited for a reply.

“Yes, operative Bluebell. We’ll let you know if we’ve located the Burger Man.”

“Copy that. Tally ho. To save y/n here we go.” Like a soldier getting ready to lead the charge on horseback Arthur sprints to his private jet that would take him just outside of Pittsberg, NH.

*******

After laying down in your own tears and mucus for what felt like a few minutes you lift your head up to look at the somewhat barren room you were confined to. It had the basics of what America thought you’d like to keep you entertained while you’re in captivity. A TV that had basic cable, Youtube, and Netflix. A plain (favorite color) journal, a stack of comic books and manga, art supplies, and a few old books that he clearly pulled from his attic in an attempt to try to find more things to entertain you since he plans on living the rest of your existence out in that tiny room.

You were beginning to go Stir-crazy from being confined for so long. Your only comfort was a man that you considered to be a monster that was crafted from a Stephen King novel. Your life became to that of a drawn out horror movie except the only difference is that the monster had taken a liking to you and fucked your brains out on numerous occasions.

“Damn it.” You spat in frustration. You growl under your breath, you wish the mental anguish would simply fade away. You begin to pace back and forth in your room. You listened carefully to the soft crunch of the marshmallow-like carpet given away under your feet. As you continued to do this for hours you eventually heard a few peculiar sounds that piqued your interest. At first you ignored it considering that what you were hearing was nothing more than maybe America or one of his staff milling about through the… where ever the fuck you were. Not that it mattered. No one could hear you nor could anyone-

The flatscreen TV that's mounted to your wall suddenly sparked to life. It startled you and you quickly jumped up in the air like a cat that’s seen a cucumber and flung yourself onto your plush bed and shielded yourself with your (favorite color) duvet.

“OH SHIT!”

“Y/N, Y/N do you can you hear me?” A familiar British accent called out from the screen.

With heavy drawn in breaths that filled your lungs it took you a few moments for your brain to recognize that it wasn’t the monster….

“Y/N?” He says much more gently this time. As if calling out to a severely injured dog. The tone was heavy with sadness. “Y/N… please …I hope you can hear me.”

A few tears pricked your eyes. His voice was the only thing that sounded like a daydream after being in this watered down version of hell.

“A…Arthur?” You say in a weak hoarse voice. There was still a voice in your mind screaming that it was a trick, a facade, a cruel prank that America was playing. All of the alarms in your brain were going off in a blaring symphony of panic. You were too afraid to remove your cover still and your shaking had begun again.

Silence hung over the room. You dared not to speak again.

Arthur stared at his screen that allowed him to see where you’d been imprisoned. He knew he had seen your slightly battered form run for the covers. He knew full well that you were not in the best headspace for any human nor country to be in. But he still had to try, because being left to America he'll surely turn you into a completely different country. You’d be unrecognizable. He tried not to think about all the ways that you’d change and did his best to put the images of you being America’s wife out of his mind.

Arthur called out once more with his voice cracking, this time you finally decide to take a peak from your massive duvet and look at the screen to see those dazzling emerald eyes. They were coated over with salt water that already began to spill onto his somewhat reddened cheeks.

“Oh my god it really is you. But…”

“Listen , Y/N we’ll save the heartfelt conversations for later. Let’s concentrate on getting you out of here. Within the next 30 seconds I need you to push your nightstand aside. One of my agents has constructed a tunnel that will lead you to the East and into the forest where I’ll be. I just need you to stay calm and….. It’s going to be okay.” He reassures you. Judging by the tension that you had in your face and the terror pouring from your eyes he knew he had to be more verbally accommodating to you in your fragile state.

‘Definitely going to ask France to make us a nice meal and I’ll actually have to be nice to get him to do it. Y/N is in some desperate need of pampering and escapism after this.’ He mused to himself.

You were still shaking tremendously. You hadn’t even registered his words in order to take action. However the agent Rosemary had reached you and effortlessly moved the nightstand from the hidden entrance that crumbled.

“(Country name)?” The agent calls out from the hidden tunnel. “Hurry, we have to get out of here. The guards are distracted but some of the other personnel will come to check on you and we have to allow the decoy take over for you before-”

Numerous footsteps pounding against the marble floor swarmed through the labyrinth. They began to draw nearer to your room.

“Y/N I promise it will be okay just listen to agent Rosemary. She’ll get you out of there safe and sound.”

“What are you guys going to use as a decoy?” Curious as to what your British love interest was scheming.

“This love.” A realistic hologram of you sprung to life from the screen. It was realistic. “Now tally ho. Get the hell out of there!” His transmission ends while your hologram continues to be projected through the screen. It wouldn’t be long before America’s guards figured out that it wasn’t you.

“My lady.” Rosemary pushed you into the escape route and you began to crawl for your life. With the agent right behind you couldn’t help but feel the tension that was in the pit of your stomach and made you somewhat nauseous. You had to cling to the fresher memory of Arthur in your mind to continue your escape and not be caught.

You had to get back to him you were determined to.

*******

In Washington, D.C. Burger Man I mean America was in a deadlock debate with Lavender and Thyme over trade deals. Agent Thyme’s golden hair swished violently as he pounded his fist against the table in heated debate with America.

“You can’t just harbor a personification and then begin a hostile takeover of their government and start spreading your propaganda like some twisted infestation! It’s illegal first and foremost. And second it VIOLATES THE ENTIRE BLOODY UNITED NATIONS CHARTER! And you’re supposed to be a LEADER?! You act like such a petulant child!”

“Funny that comes from a man that had more than half the world in the palm of his hand. How dare you insult me in my own senate.” He hissed back at England in pure defiance.

(they die at the end.)

“You’re acting like a super villain in one of your stupid comic books that you melt your already stupid brain with.”

The verdant versus aqua eyes collided with one another. Neither was the type to let their pride down. The air was tense with a thousand needles and no one wanted to be caught in the crosshairs. Teeth biting, nervous shifting, and over hundreds of eyes witnessing the showdown between two sworn enemies since the betrayal. Some cracked their knuckles to at least relieve some tension that was broiling within the room. America had reached the point where negotiations were at a stalemate and….

America’s earpiece beeped in his ear and although his facial expression stayed neutral and as distant as the moon. His eyes bled out with rage and stared out at ‘England’ with a look that was meant to obliterate one within mere milliseconds. He stood up suddenly as if a giant had been awoken from a peaceful slumber and was in a terrible mood.

He snapped his fingers.

Secret service surrounded Thyme and Lavender. The ruse was up.

“Kill them. Right here. Right now. They’re fakes.” America ordered.

“It was a pleasure working with you, Lavender.” The spell that Arthur originally put onto him wore off and their true identities were revealed. They raised their hands high into the air.

“We did our duty.” Lavender uttered her last words she’d ever speak in this world.

A few hundred rounds were fired off within seconds filling the air with deathly gunpowder. Two less souls came out of the senate that day. The monster raged through the White House all night. It was a scene straight out of hell. Glass broke, things set ablaze, people injured, and some even parished. The only thing that most who were in earshot of the White House could hear

Y/N HOW DARE YOU!

UK I WILL KILL YOU!

Y/N IS MINE!

Then just more hellish shrieks would follow. No one really wanted to question what was going on for fear they would be caught up in the chaos. They stayed away and allowed it to happen.

*******

For the first time in a while Y/N could rest peacefully without having a horrid lucid nightmare that would only bring her down deeper into depression. She finally felt okay for a moment between England’s athletic arms. She actually got to sleep and recharge her broken soul.

“Is everything going to be alright Arthur?” Your anxieties are still nibbling at the back of your ears. It was nice that you could talk to him but you still feared that he’d leave you because you’re damaged and neurotic. A ball of untamable wild energy that no one would want to deal with.

“Y/N it’s okay. I want you to relax. I won’t leave you. I won’t harm you like America. I promise.” He kissed the back of your collarbone. You felt a million bright butterflies fly from that area and through your entire being you felt relieved and could live in the moment. You felt relaxed and safe. Nothing could ruin this for you. You melted like hot butter in Arthur’s arms. You didn’t want to think, just feel. Nothing else mattered.

Except for the brewing storm that was brewing from across the pond.

#hetalia #hetalia fandom #hws #hws america #headingalaxys writes stuff #headingalaxys #yandere hetalia #alfred f jones #headingalaxys spicy #arthur kirkland #alfred jones #hetalia america #hetalia fanfiction writer #hetalia x reader #x reader

[askwhatsforlunch]

The Rugby World Cup Table

In France, there is something specific to Rugby we call "la troisième mi-temps" (third half-time), where both winning and losing teams and supporters gather after a game for a bite and a pint! In that spirit, as our home World Cup comes to a close tonight, I am celebrating all the teams that took part and played exciting, enthralling rugby (sometimes breaking our hearts!) all across France this past couple of months, sharing recipes from all the countries represented. I really enjoyed delving into national cuisines I did not know, and perhaps some future travels will be inspired by these delicious discoveries! In the meantime, I'll be happy eating, whether New Zealand or South Africa lifts their fourth Webb Ellis Trophy!

Pool A

Confit Duck (France)

Manuka Honey Glazed Ham (New Zealand)

Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Italy)

Pasta con Salsa Caruso (Uruguay)

Ombidi and Mielie Pap (Namibia)

Pool B

Beer Battered Sausages (Ireland)

Regte Braaibroodjie (South Africa)

Scots Apple Crumble (Scotland)

Ota Ika (Tonga)

Griș cu Lapte (Romania)

Pool C

Haddock Welsh Rarebit (Wales)

Vudi Vakasoso (Fiji)

Aussie Burgers (Australia)

Pastéis de Nata (Portugal)

Abkhazura (Georgia)

Pool D

Chicken Pot Pie (England)

Guiso Carrero (Argentina)

Salmon Chirashi (Japan)

Kopai (Samoa)

Chupe de Camarones (Chile)

#Recipes #Food #The Rugby World Cup Table #The Rugby World Cup Table recipes #The Rugby World Cup Table Recipe List #Rugby World Cup #RWC #Rugby World Cup 2023 #RWC 2023 #France 2023 #French Cuisine #New Zealand Cuisine #Namibian Cuisine #South African Cuisine #Italian Cuisine #British Cuisine #Irish Cuisine #South American Cuisine #Portuguese Cuisine #Romanian Cuisine #Georgian Cuisine #Pasifika Cuisine #Japanese Cuisine #Rugby #Food and Sport

[bolloxtothat]

prolly gonna start an Inktober-like challenge drawing something in the vein of Japanese Mascots for myself this month (or the next if i can wait that long) even if im like 3 days late but here we goooo:

spring blossoms

traffic police

burger chain

computers

mountain resort

ice hockey

forest deer

nuclear power

football/soccer team

chestnuts

pharmacy

public safety

ramen shop

pizza chain

navy

convinience store

elderly care

summer festival

your own website

car repair shop

aquarium

museum

school sports cheer team

fantasy rpg

child care

national park

hospital

snacks

pet store

accounting firm

cinema

supermarket chain

halloween!

#inktober? #art challenge #stuff #my stuff